This being 9/11 I woke up with that memory. Twenty years having passed and it is spoken of with sentiment. When I think of that anger comes to the surface. That is what I remember the most, the anger I felt, the hurt, the injustice of it all. I believe it is the same emotion my parents felt whenever Pearl Harbor was mentioned. At least I know that is how my Father felt. It was anger directed at a nation, not necessarily an ethic group. Often it is hard to separate the two, a trust having been broken, but with effort it is possible. I listen to the tributes, the memorials and the lamentations. I can not help but place blame, it is the natural and normal human reaction. Setting aside any philosophical sentiments, that is the reality of it. That being said it doesn't mean one should or will act upon that. I just don't believe one can remember without exploring and knowing the cause. Can there be justice for such a grave injustice? No I don't believe that is possible. Just as imposing the death sentence will not restore what was lost, but retribution is sought, an accounting taken. With those acts committed twenty years ago there is no retribution, no accounting sufficient, all that remains is grief. After Pearl harbor a war was waged and we emerged victorious. The enemy was defeated. Yes, certainly anger remained, but that anger was for the necessity of waging war more so than the event that precipitated that necessity. It was rather a transference of anger. No such transference has occurred in my feeling for 9/11. I further expect it never will.
There are those that say the guilty parties have been eliminated. Osama Bin Laden and his cohorts are all dead. Yes, that's true but terror lives on and you can not defeat terror. Those people talk of the war on terrorism and the words are hollow to me. You can not wage war on an ideology, on thoughts, emotions and beliefs. It was terror that attacked on 9/11 and that terror exists today and will exist tomorrow. That heightened sense and awareness they are calling vigilance in one sentence, being taught as bigotry, discrimination and hate in the next. That is the war on terror. It is the identifying of the enemy that is the issue at hand. These enemies are only enemies when they openly declare themselves to be so. It is like being on the battlefield and everyone wearing the same uniform. Unless the enemy identifies themselves as such, how can you know? We can not just make assumptions can we? That is what we are being told. Today I watch the news, especially our withdrawal from Afghanistan that has certainly emboldened the Taliban, and we are told to not judge the Taliban as terrorists. That must be the official stance of the current administration as they admit to negotiating with that group, another official policy being, the United States doesn't negotiate with terrorists. What other conclusion can I draw from that?
Never forget. That phrase is being repeated over and over again. But what is it that we want to remember? Certainly we want to remember all those that lost their lives. But why did they lose their lives? That portion is becoming glossed over, almost as a footnote to the story. I suppose that is the transference I speak about. We remember and honor our veterans, those that served in service to the nation. When I was young I walked among many veterans of WW2 and the Korean conflict. They seldom spoke of those wars or their experiences. When they did, in my experience they spoke of lost comrades. They also spoke of victory! They spoke not with pride so much as righteousness. They had prevailed against evil. Can anyone today speak of victory against terror? No, I don't believe you can. I was there for Desert Shield/Desert Storm when we drove the forces out of Kuwait. But that job was left incomplete. When I returned home the yellow ribbons were there and flags were waving but there was no victory celebration. On September the twelfth American Flags were flying everywhere, not as a sign of Victory but as a sign of defiance! We had been attacked, we raised our colors and prepared to march upon the battlefield! Where is the enemy? Twenty years on and I'm still looking, I'm still watching, and I will not forget! As I remember the lives taken that day I will remember why and who. That's what I'll remember. I'll remember always
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