9-11-06

An appropriate song for today: one of my favorites by Darryl Worley from a couple of years or so ago.

Have You Forgotten?

Have you forgotten how it felt that day
To see your homeland under fire and her people blown away
Have you forgotten when those towers fell
We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout BinLaden
Have you forgotten?.....
Have you forgotten all the people killed
Yes some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten 'bout our Pentagon
All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on.......

Just a few lines of the chorusses.....

Food for thought.....

I was 7 months pregnant with my last child when the attacks happened. I watched the footage and cried all day long. I had to explain the events as best I could to a 8 yr old and a 7 yr old, as well as to my stepdaughters the next day. My younger stepdaughter's 9th birthday was that day. I had to explain to them at that age that some people just hate because we are not them. I wondered what kind of world I was bringing my baby into. There was no way to know what was going to happen as we watched history in the making. But we cried and mourned and got angry and got completely p****** off and prayed as hard as we could, even when we couldn't find the words to say, for the victims and their loved ones. As far as I know, we had no personal ties to those directly involved in the tragedy, but as American citizens, we felt as though we had ALL been attacked.

You know, I don't really have a problem with those who disagree with Bush and the policies of this administration. We have a right to our opinion. But we also have a right to be responsible about how we express that opinion, and where. You and I both know that what is written here is, as the title says, just my opinion. I'm not out to change the world, but maybe get just one other person to think a little harder about different things. I'm not an evangelist--I have my beliefs, but I'm not going to tell you that you're going to hell if you think differently. Neither am I going to buy any more Dixie Chicks CD's, but that's a personal decision--by the way I'm not real fond of Toby Keith anymore either.

I do firmly believe that we need to support our troops and let them know it. Stop whining about how Gore or Kerry would have done things different. Or how Bush ignored all the signs of imminent attack (Hello--who did nothing after the USS Cole was attacked? Can anyone say Clinton without gagging?). I believe this President inherited a catastrophe waiting to happen in the intelligence field (not his own!!), not to mention in the military, and he is paying the price for it, as are we all. But who keeps voting the same Dummkopfs into office year after year? Anybody ever hear the name Robert C. Byrd, the senator from my state? And no, I have voted for his opponent every time.

I feel that we need to wake up and get involved with what is going on in our country. Start by informing yourselves and VOTE. Geez, it takes a few minutes to read your local paper when they publish who the candidates are and what their viewpoint is. Then it might take a few more minutes of you time to go to your local precinct and actually place your vote. At least you will have done something. And quite honestly, it's your duty as an American citizen. This country was never meant to be run by the same people decade after decade (Kennedy???). Maybe if more of the "average Joe" on the street would take that few minutes and exercise their RIGHT to vote, maybe somewhere along the line, we would start to see a difference made.

Back to the song, NO I don't think we should ever forget the attacks on 9-11-01. Just as I don't think we should forget Pearl Harbor, or the Kent State shootings, or the Iranian hostage crisis. I also don't believe that we should let anger rule our lives 24/7. But I do believe we should learn from history so that the same mistakes are not repeated. And I believe that we fight the fight until it's over---finish what we began, decisively and without apology. We will not get an apology from the terrorists and their backers, so let's do it. And get it over with. It may be difficult, WILL be difficult. But they have left us no other option, other than rolling over and dying.

And I will not give them the satisfaction.