Dear Terrorists
September 11, 2011 at 11:07pm
It was only one year ago that I was lamenting over what I perceived to
be the lack of caring and the apparent short term memory problems that I
believed our nation to be suffering with regard to the events of
09/11/2001. Not too long ago, I feared the same thing, that perhaps 10
years might have become the statute of limitations for tragedy in our
high-speed world, and in that thought, I made the same mistake that I
believe that the original terrorists made when they attacked us, and
those who continue to look to do harm to us make, too.
Dear Terrorists, I am quite certain that you believed that you struck a great victory against the United States on 09/11/2001. Surely watching one of our greatest cities suffer the loss of 3000 or so lives stolen from us, and the aftermath for all the families who personally had to deal with the thought and reality that their mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers were never going to come home again. They had to deal with the reality that their lives had been extinguished by an Evil that we as Americans tend to try and be intentionally naive to. We will make excuses, we will flat out deny, and we will even outright defend those that we know may be causing harm, as long as we put it in the context that it is happening somewhere else, not here, not to us. You shook that belief, and in so doing, thought that we would collapse and perhaps you would not have to deal with us anymore, except as you saw fit with regard to more terrorist action.
I don't think that with the benefit of hindsight, 10 years hence, you would have anticipated us to still be standing, divided as we may be, with your "leader" and many other high-ranking members of your organization dead. We will continue to come for you, not because we chose this battle, but because your brought this battle to our shores and forced us to recognize that in a global community, there really isn't any such thing as "over there" anymore. Not when jet planes can be hijacked and flown anywhere in the world and utilized as a rocket to decimate structures. We do not choose to put our young men and women in harm's way, but we do so because your actions have made it necessary, and we do so hoping that God may protect and return them all home safely to us. We look forward to the day when they all can come home and we do not have to continue to fight this long, protracted war, that in this moment, seems to have no end in sight. We fight you "over there" with the hope that we will never have to fight you "here", and we remain vigilant against future attacks. If you so chose, you could count that as a 'victory' for your side, that we have had to let go of some of our willful naiveté, so that we may not ever deal with such catastrophic loss again, but I would think that even you, dear terrorists, would have to agree that is a Pyrrhic victory at best.
Dear Terrorists, what you took for weakness was more of picture of our Laissez-faire lifestyle. When you look at us, you see a nation divided, one that will see us pitted against each other for the slightest advantage, and I can only assume that your thoughts were that we would be easily exploited. Of course, in doing so, you failed to follow the most simple adage that those who refuse to learn from history are condemned to repeat it. True enough, if you follow our news in any way, you see a nation that often times is at each other's throats, quite literally. What you failed to realize, however, is how quickly we would circle our wagons once attacked. You failed to recognize the power of the American spirit, and what that truly means. It is understandable, I have lived here my entire life, and as noted at the beginning, I even doubt it sometimes, but if you watch carefully, it always reappears. We love nothing more than to celebrate rebirth and hope for a reason to pull together, even as it appears we are driving ourselves further apart.
Dear Terrorists, perhaps the most grievous mistake you made, following your attacks, was to assume that this would be the end of American civilization. You failed to recognize that by ordering these attacks, you would give us cause to come together, for comfort and for strength. Left to our own devices, we would not likely have sought you out. We had no interest in killing any of you or your followers, even if we publicly (or privately) disagreed with your actions in other parts of the world. By attacking us here, by forcing our nation to become part of those that can lay claim to having been a victim of international terrorists, you brought us together. It is tragic, it is sad, but it is true. There is not an American today who did not pause for at least one moment to consider what happened on our shores 10 years ago, and to think about the sacrifice that those in our armed forces and their families continue to make on a daily basis, in order to ensure that we never have to survive another day such as that. That was a magnificent failure on your part.
Today, on the 10th anniversary of the most tragic days we have seen, our nation again pulled together. We did so on many levels, whether it be a parade/memorial service/dedication in one of our small towns, up to and through all levels of government. At our sports arenas the nation over, there were ceremonies to honor those that died, and for those who survived and must continue on. The stories of those who sacrificed and risked their own lives in order to attempt to save others at the World Trade Center site, to those who knowingly gave their lives on Flight 93, in order to avoid even more destruction on the ground below. These people are our heroes, and while we may not know all their names specifically, we know of their actions, and we honor their sacrifice, and we celebrate in the best ways we know how.
Dear Terrorists, in closing, I urge you to consider all the death that has come on both sides due to your decisions that led to 09/11/2001. As Americans, we are a forgiving society. Again, if you turn to history, you will see that with time, we generally will forgive any enemy, no matter the harm that may have been caused by them. You could start with the English, whom we fought two wars with in a span of 40 years, and move along through our own Civil War and in to WWI and WWII. When it was called upon, our nation fought, but just as soon as we could, we laid down arms and began the process of rebuilding. It might be a special situation with you, dear terrorists, given all the harm and pain that you have caused, but I am confident in us as Americans, that we would eventually forgive even the Evil that you rained down on us. We continue to fight, because it is necessary, because your actions demand it, but if given the opportunity, we would just as soon peace. It suits us better.
Dear Terrorists, the onus is on you. This is a fight that exists because of your actions, because of the path that you chose. In so doing, you tied our fates together. You may think that you have the will to outlast us, that eventually we will cave and we give in. I promise that is not the case, for so many different reasons. We will fight as long as we must, and we will not quit until we are sure of our security. We will never forget your actions of those day, nor will we ever forgive them, because they are unforgivable. That which has transpired since can be forgiven, though. We will remember those that we lost, the lives that were cut short, and we will aid those that were left behind. We are America, and that is how we roll. For as long as the sun is set in the sky, we shall continue to be the beacon of shining light for this world. It is a responsibility we may not always seem to take seriously, but we really do. I promise you.
Dear Terrorists, lay down you arms, so that we may do the same.
Dear Terrorists, I am quite certain that you believed that you struck a great victory against the United States on 09/11/2001. Surely watching one of our greatest cities suffer the loss of 3000 or so lives stolen from us, and the aftermath for all the families who personally had to deal with the thought and reality that their mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers were never going to come home again. They had to deal with the reality that their lives had been extinguished by an Evil that we as Americans tend to try and be intentionally naive to. We will make excuses, we will flat out deny, and we will even outright defend those that we know may be causing harm, as long as we put it in the context that it is happening somewhere else, not here, not to us. You shook that belief, and in so doing, thought that we would collapse and perhaps you would not have to deal with us anymore, except as you saw fit with regard to more terrorist action.
I don't think that with the benefit of hindsight, 10 years hence, you would have anticipated us to still be standing, divided as we may be, with your "leader" and many other high-ranking members of your organization dead. We will continue to come for you, not because we chose this battle, but because your brought this battle to our shores and forced us to recognize that in a global community, there really isn't any such thing as "over there" anymore. Not when jet planes can be hijacked and flown anywhere in the world and utilized as a rocket to decimate structures. We do not choose to put our young men and women in harm's way, but we do so because your actions have made it necessary, and we do so hoping that God may protect and return them all home safely to us. We look forward to the day when they all can come home and we do not have to continue to fight this long, protracted war, that in this moment, seems to have no end in sight. We fight you "over there" with the hope that we will never have to fight you "here", and we remain vigilant against future attacks. If you so chose, you could count that as a 'victory' for your side, that we have had to let go of some of our willful naiveté, so that we may not ever deal with such catastrophic loss again, but I would think that even you, dear terrorists, would have to agree that is a Pyrrhic victory at best.
Dear Terrorists, what you took for weakness was more of picture of our Laissez-faire lifestyle. When you look at us, you see a nation divided, one that will see us pitted against each other for the slightest advantage, and I can only assume that your thoughts were that we would be easily exploited. Of course, in doing so, you failed to follow the most simple adage that those who refuse to learn from history are condemned to repeat it. True enough, if you follow our news in any way, you see a nation that often times is at each other's throats, quite literally. What you failed to realize, however, is how quickly we would circle our wagons once attacked. You failed to recognize the power of the American spirit, and what that truly means. It is understandable, I have lived here my entire life, and as noted at the beginning, I even doubt it sometimes, but if you watch carefully, it always reappears. We love nothing more than to celebrate rebirth and hope for a reason to pull together, even as it appears we are driving ourselves further apart.
Dear Terrorists, perhaps the most grievous mistake you made, following your attacks, was to assume that this would be the end of American civilization. You failed to recognize that by ordering these attacks, you would give us cause to come together, for comfort and for strength. Left to our own devices, we would not likely have sought you out. We had no interest in killing any of you or your followers, even if we publicly (or privately) disagreed with your actions in other parts of the world. By attacking us here, by forcing our nation to become part of those that can lay claim to having been a victim of international terrorists, you brought us together. It is tragic, it is sad, but it is true. There is not an American today who did not pause for at least one moment to consider what happened on our shores 10 years ago, and to think about the sacrifice that those in our armed forces and their families continue to make on a daily basis, in order to ensure that we never have to survive another day such as that. That was a magnificent failure on your part.
Today, on the 10th anniversary of the most tragic days we have seen, our nation again pulled together. We did so on many levels, whether it be a parade/memorial service/dedication in one of our small towns, up to and through all levels of government. At our sports arenas the nation over, there were ceremonies to honor those that died, and for those who survived and must continue on. The stories of those who sacrificed and risked their own lives in order to attempt to save others at the World Trade Center site, to those who knowingly gave their lives on Flight 93, in order to avoid even more destruction on the ground below. These people are our heroes, and while we may not know all their names specifically, we know of their actions, and we honor their sacrifice, and we celebrate in the best ways we know how.
Dear Terrorists, in closing, I urge you to consider all the death that has come on both sides due to your decisions that led to 09/11/2001. As Americans, we are a forgiving society. Again, if you turn to history, you will see that with time, we generally will forgive any enemy, no matter the harm that may have been caused by them. You could start with the English, whom we fought two wars with in a span of 40 years, and move along through our own Civil War and in to WWI and WWII. When it was called upon, our nation fought, but just as soon as we could, we laid down arms and began the process of rebuilding. It might be a special situation with you, dear terrorists, given all the harm and pain that you have caused, but I am confident in us as Americans, that we would eventually forgive even the Evil that you rained down on us. We continue to fight, because it is necessary, because your actions demand it, but if given the opportunity, we would just as soon peace. It suits us better.
Dear Terrorists, the onus is on you. This is a fight that exists because of your actions, because of the path that you chose. In so doing, you tied our fates together. You may think that you have the will to outlast us, that eventually we will cave and we give in. I promise that is not the case, for so many different reasons. We will fight as long as we must, and we will not quit until we are sure of our security. We will never forget your actions of those day, nor will we ever forgive them, because they are unforgivable. That which has transpired since can be forgiven, though. We will remember those that we lost, the lives that were cut short, and we will aid those that were left behind. We are America, and that is how we roll. For as long as the sun is set in the sky, we shall continue to be the beacon of shining light for this world. It is a responsibility we may not always seem to take seriously, but we really do. I promise you.
Dear Terrorists, lay down you arms, so that we may do the same.
