I remember exactly where I was standing when I first heard the news. It was in the shipping department of Pulse Industries in Greensboro, Md. My wife called to tell me! The towers were ablaze. I vaguely remember being told that President Kennedy had been shot, I was in school. The teacher was crying just a little bit as we all said a prayer, and had a moment of silence. That was in November of 1963. I was ten years old. I remember seeing the President and his family on the television. I remember him saying, " ask not what your country can do for you, but rather ask what you can do for your country." I also remember him saying we would put a man on the moon. We did so on my birthday just six years after his death. And here we are 17 years after that fateful day when America was attacked. That is the way I will always remember that, as an attack. What else could you call it? I do think we should add the year, lest people forget. It was September the eleventh two thousand and one. That the date was on the eleventh is not lost to me. Remember WW1 ended on the 11th hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month. So, even though it was long before my time and I have no memory of anyone having served in that war from my family, the eleventh evokes those thoughts. Was it coincidence that the 11th was chosen by those terrorists? It could very well have been but seems unlikely to me. As much as I despise those that coordinated and planned that attack I'm as equally certain they were intelligent men aware of history. Indeed. history was the impetus for the attack!
I also remember the battle cry, We will never forget, and the proliferation of the American Flag being flown proudly. Patriotism soared to new heights. There was an insurgence of men and women joining the armed forces. America had been attacked and America would respond to that attack. The world cried out, we are all Americans. And now 17 years later what is the rest of the world saying? I would say the world has forgotten, I would say many Americans have forgotten, I say, I will never forget. I have a banner that my wife's Uncle George kept and displayed in his window every year. It says, Remember Pearl Harbor. I wasn't alive then either but I remember. Uncle George never forgot and I am bound to carry his memory forward and with that memory his banner. What banner do we have for 9/11? Sadly I had to go look for that. I found there is a flag , first commissioned in New York, to be flown at the memorial. How could it be that I have never heard of this? Could it be that it has been forgotten, relegated to a tourist attraction? I'm certain those from NYC and the surrounding area are far more aware of all that than those in the other parts of the country. I can understand that. I can also understand how 17 years is a long time ago. I'm equally as certain the way it is written in the history books differs from my memory of it.
Yes, today we all talk about inclusiveness, acceptance and not judging people. It's the same thing we have been saying for hundreds of years, nothing new about that. I can't but laugh when there are those that claim " enlightenment " while professing such concepts, like it is something they just discovered. I answer them with a line from a Dwight Yoakum song, " how's it feel now that you're the one it's happening to" Their reactions are quite different from their rhetoric, when it does effect them directly. But I will never forget, I will never let my guard down. It may be politically incorrect and all that, but I will view those claiming loyalty to Islam with suspicion. I do so the same way I watch a bee, I'll leave it alone, all the while realizing it might sting me. I will not forget what it is capable of. I remember not to hate, I remember to be prepared. I don't remember to honor the memories of those that lost their lives. they have family, friends, relatives and co-workers that will do that. No, I remember to preserve myself and those that I love. I remember to never let my guard down. Not in fear, but in awareness. I will never forget.
I also remember the battle cry, We will never forget, and the proliferation of the American Flag being flown proudly. Patriotism soared to new heights. There was an insurgence of men and women joining the armed forces. America had been attacked and America would respond to that attack. The world cried out, we are all Americans. And now 17 years later what is the rest of the world saying? I would say the world has forgotten, I would say many Americans have forgotten, I say, I will never forget. I have a banner that my wife's Uncle George kept and displayed in his window every year. It says, Remember Pearl Harbor. I wasn't alive then either but I remember. Uncle George never forgot and I am bound to carry his memory forward and with that memory his banner. What banner do we have for 9/11? Sadly I had to go look for that. I found there is a flag , first commissioned in New York, to be flown at the memorial. How could it be that I have never heard of this? Could it be that it has been forgotten, relegated to a tourist attraction? I'm certain those from NYC and the surrounding area are far more aware of all that than those in the other parts of the country. I can understand that. I can also understand how 17 years is a long time ago. I'm equally as certain the way it is written in the history books differs from my memory of it.
Yes, today we all talk about inclusiveness, acceptance and not judging people. It's the same thing we have been saying for hundreds of years, nothing new about that. I can't but laugh when there are those that claim " enlightenment " while professing such concepts, like it is something they just discovered. I answer them with a line from a Dwight Yoakum song, " how's it feel now that you're the one it's happening to" Their reactions are quite different from their rhetoric, when it does effect them directly. But I will never forget, I will never let my guard down. It may be politically incorrect and all that, but I will view those claiming loyalty to Islam with suspicion. I do so the same way I watch a bee, I'll leave it alone, all the while realizing it might sting me. I will not forget what it is capable of. I remember not to hate, I remember to be prepared. I don't remember to honor the memories of those that lost their lives. they have family, friends, relatives and co-workers that will do that. No, I remember to preserve myself and those that I love. I remember to never let my guard down. Not in fear, but in awareness. I will never forget.
 |
This is the flag. Have you seen it before? I went to the memorial when it was under construction and don't recall seeing this. It is my feeling we should fly it every 9/11
|
No comments:
Post a Comment