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September 12, 2003

Today We Remember, And Recommit

Yesterday was a day to remember the dead, all those who died in the cowardly and unprovoked attacks of 9-11. We remember the dead, the injured, and all those who’s lives were skewed onto totally new paths by the events of that day.

Today, we must remember those who have died since, who have been injured or maimed, and those who’s lives have been skewed onto totally new paths by the events since that day. In my calendar, 9-12 will be the day of remembrance for those and what came after.

This day is special. We must, must, pause and take stock; honor those who have given their lives for the cause of freedom; honor and help those who have been injured or maimed in the fight for freedom; and, recommit ourselves to that cause and the war in which we now find ourselves.

For me, that commitment is easy. It has something to do with oaths previously sworn to protect and defend against all enemies foreign or domestic, but it has a lot more to do with a slap in the face.

The attacks of 9-11 were a slap in the figurative face of America. They were aimed at symbols of freedom, of economic power, and of our national might. That there were more planned is something oft not discussed, but the evidence is clear that more flights were targeted given some of what was found afterwards. Prompt and decisive action prevented a much greater tragedy, I am convinced.

Yes, these were just a slap in the face, even though they are also a great human tragedy. In terms of wars and battles, they were miniscule. In terms of psychological impact, they were large. In terms of families that are lost and grieving, they are huge gaping wounds. Yet they were but a slap in our figurative face. They were meant to be more, but they were not and we must never let them be more, for that gives aid and comfort to our enemy.

It was indeed a slap in the face, but despite what an increasing number are starting to say, it was not the challenge of a duel. Duels are fought by honorable men, male and female, and there is no honor, no integrity, no true intelligence to our foe. This was the punch of a sewer-dwelling misfit who cannot stand the light of day. A punch thrown in drunken anger at something better than it ever could be because it stood for growth, prosperity, intellectualism, reason, and tolerance. A punch launched without warning from the dark by that which cannot stand the light.

That this enemy hates us and will destroy us and all we stand for if we let it, is well understood by most. It was well understood by me on an intellectual level, but it took a trip and a second slap in the face to truly bring it into my gut and my heart.

I have written before a bit about my visit to Ground Zero. I still regret not being able to do more, and that my offers formal and informal to help were not accepted. Yet, at the same time, a slap in the face showed me why that could not be, and would be wrong if it had been.
My reason for being in New York was a trade show, but we were able to combine that trip with an effort to do more. Industry has begun doing some remarkable research in space, and some of the fruits of that research were to be offered to those in need. There was light to aid the healing of wounds, hyperspectral imaging for detection and security, a system to destroy pathogens in the air, advanced detection methods for yet other pathogens and agents, and more. Industry and commercial space efforts were prepared to do their share.

The police Lieutenant who was my babysitter that day was gracious, fun, and entertaining. I was bothered by the fact that someone was being detached to do this service, and to be honest still am. One of the places on my itinerary that day was Ground Zero.

I was eager and excited about the day. Here was a chance to do something, to try and do some good and help defeat at least a part of the aims of our enemy. Yet, I was also excited by other prospects, and being who I am I also had a camera with me. When we reached Ground Zero, LT hinted that it would be a good idea to keep the camera under my sweater, as normally cameras were not allowed where I was going.

He took me to the family platform. Not any of the public sites or news sites, but to the family platform. The shame I felt was immediate and on several levels. Who was I to be here? What right did I have to share this space with them, for they were there these few weeks after the attack? No longer in hope of finding the living, but in the simple hope that a body might be found, or enough such that closure could be had.

I am sure that some of my “colleagues” in the media would say that I should have shot anyway, given such an opportunity. Think of the human interest pictures that could have been gotten of the families. Think of the unique perspective of the pit, the pictures that would have been from a new and different angle.

I take comfort in the decision made by another photographer many years ago at my hometown newspaper. He was a good journalistic photographer, and took a lot of heat over an incident. A man who worked at the paper threatened to commit suicide. The photographer put down his camera and tried to talk him out of it, but failed. Others at that paper and elsewhere apparently upbraided him for not simply shooting things as they happened. He countered that he was fine, because he did the right thing and tried to save a life, and did not simply photograph the events.

The camera stayed under my sweater, and I did what was right for that time and place. I was ashamed that I even had it, and am glad I made the decision I did. I still regret in some ways not leaving it in the car. It would do scant justice to what I saw there that day, for no mere camera or video camera could truly capture it.

The pit was hell, and it was heaven. Hell was easy to determine, from the smell in the air of burnt concrete, fuel, and human flesh, to the fact that between fires and compaction the temperatures under ground were more than 1,000 degrees. The men toiling so hard in that effort were literally having the soles of their boots melt off as they worked. Masks helped with the dust, but could only do so much. The heaven was shown in that toil, in the men who would not leave no matter what, and in the resolve so wonderfully shown. Volunteers need not apply, for we will do it ourselves for it is what we owe those who died here, our colleagues and our friends.

That was the personal slap in the face, and it was reinforced by the people I talked to that day. While I had meetings with those in power, I also spent a lot of time with the line animals, the people on the street who were there. LT was one of them, and he almost lost his life twice on 9-11 as he worked to help.

In the days since this act of war, we have taken the fight to the enemy. The enemy has paid a terrible price, as have people on the side of freedom. There have been losses by members of the military, members of the intelligence community, and even by civilians doing their part.

Remember them.

Remember them all, and honor them. Do whatever you can for those who serve, in particular those who have been wounded and maimed in this war. They are the reason you are alive, that there have been no significant actions in the U.S. since then, and that you have the right and ability to talk, protest, and live today.

Remember them.

Yesterday was for the innocent victims of 9-11, for they all were truly innocent in the ways that matter. Today is for those who have paid the price since, who prove the point that freedom is never truly free.

Remember them.

It is time to move on. Indeed, it is past time to move on. It is past time to quit wasting time with those who hate themselves, their culture, and even the ideals they profess to serve. It is time to move on from “allies” who provide aid and comfort to the enemy, while doing all they can to prevent action being taken against evil. It is time to quit pretending that there is moral equivalency in the relative positions of those involved. It is time to quit providing legitimacy to ideas and ideals that call for all to be sunk to the lowest common denominator. It is time, and past time, to deal with the enemies of reason, growth, and light.

It is time, and past time, for us to move on in the same way we did after Pearl Harbor. Remember that day, remember the day. Remember those that have died in battle since.

It is time for each of us to look into our hearts and souls and make a choice. We are either for good, or we are with them – the enemy. There is a clear black and white choice here before us. We can be true to the ideals of our country: tolerance, reason, individual liberty, and prosperity. Or, we can be true to the ideals of a fantasy ideology that sees people as chattel, denies reason, destroys individual and group liberty, and seeks to make all as poor as possible – in every sense of the term.

My decision is made. What is yours? Are you friend or foe? Decide now, for the time is up. You are either with them, or for freedom and all it truly means. Decide now. For this is another slap in the face for those that need it.

It is indeed time to move on. It is time to drive home this war, on every front.

-30-

Posted by wolf1 at September 12, 2003 12:29 AM | TrackBack
Comments

"It is time, and past time, for us to move on in the same way we did after Pearl Harbor."

Before we moved on, however, we kicked a few million asses, then sat back to behold in satisfaction what we had wrought.

I don't think you're wrong to suggest we need to move on. As with any tragedy, attachment to grief is unhealthy. But is that in fact what we're doing as a country if we take only one day out of the year to remember something very big and very hellish? I don't think this indicates a nation in the grip of a tragic fixation.

I think some people want to minimize the tragedy because it happened so damn fast. I suggest visiting one of those websites that lists the names of all those who died, printing out the list-- then reciting each name, out loud, like a mantra or prayer. At the end of that exercise, when the reciter has himself walked every step through the garden of pain, perhaps the disaster won't look like a mere slap in the face.

So while I appreciate your sentiment and basically agree with the idea of moving on, I wonder whether a few points haven't been missed here, in the rush to that emotionally pragmatic bottom line.


Kevin Kim

Posted by: Kevin Kim at September 12, 2003 01:03 PM

Kevin, Nice comment but I think you missed the point. The moving on IS the kicking of asses as you put it. It is going after our enemies, and as for visiting the WWW sites, I think you need to read my post of yesterday and a few others I have written, and then think a bit.

Posted by: Laughing Wolf at September 12, 2003 01:21 PM

It's called "Bearing Witness"...how we demonstrate our commitment to securing all others against the same fate by battling the forces that tried [AND FAILED] to bring us donw.

Posted by: MommaBear at September 12, 2003 01:49 PM

[ should read "down" ]

Posted by: MommaBear at September 12, 2003 01:50 PM

Thank you, MommaBear, and Laughing Wolf - bearing witness is indeed pulling ourselves up out of our grief and kicking ass to rectify the situation, bringing justice to victims and perpetrators alike who still live, and never letting such a thing happen again. Your proposition for September 12th is sound and needed, lest we forget why we're doing what we're doing.

Posted by: inkgrrl at September 12, 2003 05:57 PM

Nice one Laughing Wolf. But . . . Let's *not* call it "moving on." I don't know about you, but I take it to mean; "forget about it." I will NEVER forget about 9/11/01 even after we eradicate ever single one of the Islamofascists from existence.

My suggestion; "Press on!" In the military, it means; "We're done with that. Next!"

Posted by: sam at September 12, 2003 08:11 PM

"The moving on IS the kicking of asses as you put it. It is going after our enemies"

Point taken, LW.

But isn't this what's currently going on?

I admit I had trouble seeing your point. If your point was, "Let's not obsess, let's just kick ass," then I'd submit that's what we're doing.

Perhaps you wrote your post in response to a perceived flagging of morale in the US. Maybe morale is flagging; I don't know. If your primary purpose was hortatory, then OK. No disagreement here.

If, however, the point was, "Let's not fixate on our sadness," I'd submit that that's not what's happening in America at all. Remembering an event once a year isn't a fixation; it's a great way to manage and channel grief, anger, and all the rest.

In the end, we're in basic agreement. Thanks for your clarification.


Kevin

Posted by: Kevin Kim at September 13, 2003 05:41 AM

In Moving on you all in US need to think in the first place who created these monsters. I am a veteran of Indian Army. British while leaving gave us a parting kick & we lost our everything; home, hearth, properties and all that we had. Since then, after creating Pakistan, they kept it armed, financed and supported to repeatedly invade. Your so called fight against terror is uni-dimension. You are again gifting $ billions of weapons to keep their terror against us. Who created Taliban; Bin Laden ect ( US ). You need to think again. I request you to make a small team & visit India. I will fix it for you. Here in New Delhi, you can stay with us. Best luck, Col Behl

Posted by: Col Behl at September 14, 2003 03:50 PM

Col Behl,

There were many contributors to the current rise of Islamic terrorism. In many ways India is one of them, for her repudiation of the agreement reached over Kashmir during the partition of Pakistan was not honorable in my opinion. All thoughout the 1970s, 80s and into the 90s, India made it very clear she did not want to be an ally of the United States, flirting openly with the then-Soviet Union and denouncing the US in a variety of ways. Is it any surprise, then, that we made overtures to Pakistan? Or that we helped mujahadeen fight the Soviets in Afghanistan?

If the US has responsibility there, India has an equal one -- or more.

Posted by: rkb at September 14, 2003 08:00 PM