I sat in a movie theater watching
"Schindler's List," asked myself,
"Why didn't the Jews fight
back?"
Now I know why. I sat in a movie theater,
watching "Pearl Harbor" and asked myself," Why weren't we
prepared?" Now I know why. Civilized people cannot fathom,
much less predict, the actions of
evil people.
On September 11, dozens of
capable airplane passengers allowed
themselves to be
overpowered by a handful of poorly armed terrorists
because they did not comprehend the depth
of hatred that motivated their captors.
On September 11, thousands of
innocent people were murdered
because too many Americans naively reject the
reality that some nations are
dedicated to the dominance of others. Many
political pundits, pacifists and media
personnel want us to forget the carnage. They say we
must focus on
the bravery of the rescuers and ignore the cowardice
of the killers. They
implore us to understand the motivation of the
perpetrators. Major
television stations have announced they will assist
the healing
process by not replaying devastating footage of the
planes crashing into the
Twin Towers.
I will not be manipulated.
I will not pretend to understand.
I will not forget. I will not forget the liberal
media who abused freedom of the press
to kick our country when it was
vulnerable and hurting.
I will not forget that CBS anchor Dan
Rather preceded President
Bush's address to the nation with the snide remark,
"No matter how you feel about him,
he is still our president."
I will not forget that ABC TV
anchor Peter Jennings questioned President Bush's motives for not
returning immediately to Washington, DC and
commented, "We're all pretty skeptical and cynical about
Washington."
And I will not forget that ABC's
Mark Halperin warned if reporters
weren't informed of every little detail of
this war, they aren't "likely-- nor should they be expected -- to show
deference."
I will not isolate myself from my
fellow Americans by pretending an
attack on the USS Cole in Yemen was not an
attack on the
United States of America.
I will not forget the Clinton
administration equipped Islamic
terrorists and their
supporters with the world's most sophisticated
telecommunications equipment and encryption
technology, thereby
compromising America's ability to trace
terrorist radio, cell phone,
land lines, faxes and modem communications.
I will not be appeased with
pointless, quick retaliatory strikes like
those perfected by the previous administration.
I will not be comforted by
"feel-good, do nothing" regulations like the silly "Have your
bags been under your control?" question at the airport.
I will not be influenced by so
called, "antiwar demonstrators" who exploit the right of expression
to chant anti-American obscenities.
I will not forget the moral
victory handed the North Vietnamese by
American war protesters who reviled and spat
upon the returning
soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines.
I will not be softened by the
wishful thinking of pacifists who chose reassurance over reality.
I will embrace the wise words of
Prime Minister Tony Blair who told Labor Party
conference, "They have no moral inhibition on the slaughter
of the innocent. If they could have murdered not 7,000 but 70,000,
does
anyone doubt they would have done so and rejoiced in
it?
There is no compromise possible
with such people, no meeting of
minds, no point of understanding
with such terror. Just a choice: defeat it or be defeated by it.
And defeat it we must!"
I will force myself to:
-hear the weeping
-feel the helplessness
-imagine the terror
-sense the panic
-smell the burning flesh
-experience the loss
- remember the hatred.
I sat in a movie theater,
watching "Private Ryan" and asked myself,
"Where did they find the courage?"
Now I know.
We
have no choice. Living without liberty is not
living.
-- Ed Evans, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.)
Not as lean, Not as mean, But
still a Marine.
Keep this going until every
living American has read it and
memorized it so we don't make the
same mistake again.
