It has been 15 years since that terrible day. I can remember exactly where I was, how I found out, and what I did for the next frantic few days. I remember checking the names daily at the Pentagon to see if I knew any of them, either from serving with me, or because I come from the DC area, and it was entirely possible I knew the civilians killed in the Pentagon.
I mourned when the towers fell. It broke our collective heart. It was a terrible, dark, bad day. We suffered one of the worst things a nation can suffer, a sneak attack upon our civilians, upon targets that were not part of our military complex. It was cowardly warfare, condemned by the world.
I have struggled with what I want to say today. I am always so saddened at the memory of the loss. It breaks my heart still, those poor people, those brave responders, the magnitude of it all. But, more, I remember the America that faced that day. We were not a nation of angst and sniping, and the lowest common denominator we have become in these 15 years.
But, I will not use this anniversary to conflate issues. We have a serious issue and disagreement in this country to do with the former starting quarterback for the 49ers, that has spread to others in the NFL. I will not dignify their behavior by citing 9/11 as a reason to condemn it. 9/11 should be more important to all of us than that. Regardless of our race, our creed, our national origin, 9/11 should stand as proof that to be American is important, is to be cherished, and makes many jealous enough to kill over it.
9/11 is proof of how much a large segment of the world's population despises our freedom, our rights, our uniqueness on the planet. More than they even hate the Israelis, they hate us because we are free. They hate us because they cannot erase the vision of freedom and liberty that we remain to so much of the world. People so impoverished they make Apalachia look like El Dorado, dream of being American. People so oppressed they do not have the bare minimum requirements for life, dream of being American. People so abused by those that pervert their beliefs for violence and power that they literally cannot show their face in public, dream of being American.
Shame on us if we ever forget why 9/11 occurred, why it is so important. Shame on us if we care about some quarterback, more than we do remembering that even the stumbling and broken excuse for a democracy we portray is still so stupendous, it drives the oppressors and evil of the world to try to kill us.
They do not want our money. They do not want our goods. They do not want our lands. They do not want anything, but to destroy us. Because our freedom, what we represent, what we show to the rest of the world, is so precious they cannot abide the thought of it. We forget that, in all the tumult that we currently find ourselves in.
And, shame on you, if you think that whatever your race, creed or origin may be, if you think you are oppressed here. You think that because you have not seen what real oppression looks like. You think that because you do not understand what living in real fear feels like. You think that because you are uneducated as to what those words and ideas are. You are told you know. Your lot in this nation is light years ahead of the best those in other nations will ever hope for.
There are plenty of things I would not do for this country, torture, murder, rape, because we are Americans, and we are better than that. But there is no danger I would not brave for this country. And, I did so, for more than two decades. On 9/11, I was an experienced sailor, one of the best at what I did. I was helpless to stop the carnage. I was helpless to do anything to prevent the deaths, prevent the pain, injury and loss. I was helpless to explain it to my children, to myself. The enormity of the evil we faced was beyond my description.
It was not beyond the description of much of the world. There was rejoicing in the Mid East. This was not condemned wholesale by the Muslim world. This is not out of the realm of their understanding and conception, like it is America's. This is considered something that may be justified in their faith. They covered for, supported, financed and hid members of the groups that perpetrated this crime. Members of the Saudi Royal family, members of the leading families in Yemen, the best and brightest of the Muslim world were complicit and culpable in many ways for accessory to the crime that was 9/11. Remember that even our "friends" in that world are not liking us because we are America. They need us because we are the big stick. There is no love lost there for us, and never has been.
We have no business glossing over the enormity of 9/11, or what it brought about. We have no business not still feeling the sting of that loss. We have no business thinking that we have defeated the enemy. As long as we are free, as long as we are America, they will hate us. Be they Nazis or Islamic zealots. As long as we are free, we are in danger, and we are at risk.
I will happily live with that risk all the rest of my life. I will happily continue to struggle to live as we wish and still maintain the proper security. As long as they continue to hate us, as long as they continue to desire to destroy us, I will know that my America is still the greatest light onto the world.
Whatever your particular axe to grind with America is, if you are American, give thanks for it. It means you are allowed, gifted and expected to make your America better. Whatever disagreement we may have, we are still disagreeing and not in combat. We are still so much more blessed than any other nation on Earth, we have no excuse not to see that.
Walmart, libraries, free access to the Internet, freedom to move from here to there, freedom to go worship where you want, freedom to wear the clothes you wish, freedom to have children, (that one is way over abused BTW), these are all things we take for granted. Were any of the riots or demonstrations we have seen this year around the country, to occur in Saudi Arabia or Jordan, our good friends and the good Muslim nations, most of the organizers would be facing the death penalty. The abuse the women would suffer is not fit for description.
If you do not see the proof of our blessing as Americans, in the terrible hatred and bigotry and idolatry that drove the 9/11 attackers, and drives the terrorist organizations still, you miss the point.
Never forget, because it is when we forget why we are hated, that we lose our freedoms. We become incapable of disagreeing. When we forget, we elect a raving bigot and narcissist that is more like Sadam than he is any of our past President. When we forget, we elect a criminal that will do and say anything to enrich themselves and get what they want, and that is more like Sadam than it is like any of our past Presidents.
Disagree with me. Defame me. Condemn me. Curse me. Put me on blast. Every one of those actions ensures that we will not succumb to being like those that hate us enough to kill us. And, if I dish back as good as I get, realize that also proves our freedom still reigns supreme. I don't agree with anyone all of the time. And, I really hope no one agrees with me all the time. That does not improve America.
And our continued disagreement, our continued growth and experimenting, our continued deepening of rights and liberties and free access, will make us remain unsafe at some level. But, those goat abusing knuckle dragging bastards will never overcome America. Not with hate. Not with oppression. Not with intolerance. Freedom will win out. At least as long as I have breath in me, freedom will have at least one defender.
So, please remember why 9/11 is important, so those 3,000 lives are never lost in vain. Please. And I hope that you disagree with me loudly and clearly, for all the world to see. That is what they hate most, and any chance we get to dig it into those bastards, we should take full advantage of it.
GLYASDI
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