a day of rememberance

[4th Horseman]

"We did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong." -

Ronald Reagan

As we all know, today is a day where old wounds, once thought healed, are torn open again, a day where the kindling of hatred is once again ignited. 9/11 changed each and every one of our lives, and our sojurn thru the remaining time we have here has been changed forever.

I wanted to take a moment and reflect on the importance of remembering those who are no longer with us, the result of a barbaric, ruthless and shameless act of cowardice...

In the days after 9/11, i purchased a special limited edition of Time Magazine, whose entire content was dedicated to the events leading up to and ultimately culminating in the death of nearly 3,000 Americans...while thumbing thru the magazine, i did not notice that my two boys, then 5-7 had walked around behind me as i sat on the sofa. As i thumbed thru the magazine, i came to the center page, which actually was a full page, folded and stapled in the middle. It was a picture taken of 3 individuals in freefall, having made the decision to jump out of the building rather than die by fire. It is an image that will FOREVER burn in my memory, and to my dismay, as i sat staring at the photo, my kids asked me what made these people jump. How do you explain that to a kid who knows nothing but the innocence of childhood. How do you explain that these people, just hours before had kissed their families goodbye and promised to be back for dinner and now here they are, faced with the horrible decision of either staying and dying by fire, or jumping out of whatever floor they were on, either way, they were NEVER going to go home, never going to see their families again, all because of one individuals hatred for everything, good or bad that we stand for...How does one inject a sense of fairness and objectivity when, for days, weeks, and months afterwards, many of us wanted revenge in the worst way. Explaining to my sons why this happened was one of the more difficult talks i have had to have with them (except for the birds and the bees one...) as i found myself fighting my own prejudices and rage. I have always tried to give them a balanced viewpoint, for poisioning a young child's mind with your own fears, etc is a horrible act...

Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent - Issac Asimov

Today, we should all take a moment and reflect, in our own way, the heroism that so many displayed on that terrible day, many of them no longer with us...imagine having to make the decision, because thats what you do, to go into a situation knowing that you will probably not survive..how many of us could willingly do that?...

Also, whether or not you support our actions overseas, I want to take a moment on this day and salute each and every person, male or female, who has ever served this wonderful country in time of war...and that goes for any veteran here at TIWWA..for all those whose ultimate sacrifice has allowed us to remain free, and to those currently engaged in maintaining that freedom, i can not express my gratitude any more...

OUT OF RESPECT FOR OTHER MEMBERS HERE WHO MAY NOT SHARE A VIEWPOINT SIMILAR TO MINE, I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO POST THIS WITHOUT PREJUDICE FOR OR AGAINST OUR CURRENT INVOLVEMENT IN OVERSEAS ARENAS....I ASK YOU NOT TO TURN THIS INTO A PLATFORM FOR YOUR PERSONAL VIEWPOINTS...

thank you,,

4th Horseman...

[Guest SouthernCelt]

Excellent tribute; amen to all that was said...

[Guest Frank L.]

(silence)

[The Old Man]

I wanted to post something yesterday but I wasn't sure what to post. Well done!

[Raven Wolf]

I wanted to post something yesterday but I wasn't sure what to post. Well done!

agreed.

[Guest gmcp]

A very nice post, well done.

I was in 8th grade when it all went down. I was in the library with my english class, and my teacher was watching the TV, horrified. She said in a panicked voice "terrorists are using civillian planes as bombs and ramming them into important buildings." I won't ever forget that.

I'm going to school in New York (Rochester), and I have a bunch of friends here from NYC. It's been fascinating listening to their memories about it all. I can't imagine being in the city when that happened. And living in Virginia, I alos know many people around the Pentagon, and the insecurity that left the entire capitol in.

I'm looking forward to the progress now finally underway at Ground Zero. I saw Ground Zero for the first time in July, and it was quite powerful.