I will not make this a long dissertation on a day that needs few words for the images say far more than I or anyone could. After all, how do you paint a picture in words of the evil of hatred so horrifying that only God could possibly comprehend?
Like every person alive that day, old enough to understand, I can recall exactly what I was doing and where I was at. How could I forget? In many ways I want to forget the horrors, but never the meaning of that day. As an American, I want to always remember that there are those who hate us so much that only killing us, maiming us, and destroying our way of life is all they live for, even hope to die for. They and their ideology is everything opposite to the goodness of the God most of us believe in. Trying to understand them is far more difficult than one might think. I think of the days, when training my team, of the importance of getting into the heads of the enemies we targeted, targeted to collect meaningful intelligence, that would protect us from the very evils of what took place on September 11, 2001.
On that horrible day I left work (I had retired from the Agency and was hired and worked as Director of Security for a major “Luxury” hotel, actually I ran two hotel Security Departments in Atlanta Georgia) around 8:00 AM, for my dreaded dental appointment. I had been seated and without being told why, my dentist was summoned and left. Being naturally inquisitive, I got out of my dental chair and went into the hall. There was no one to be found, but I heard moans and sounds that caused me to know something terrible was going on, and I followed the sounds until I found the source, a small office with the entire dental staff looking at a small TV on a desk. The site and sounds from the TV left me with a sick feeling inside I cannot describe. I told my dentist I would have to go, as my instincts from the past told me to get back to my hotels, and on the way to the downtown hotel, the car radio gave me reason to feel I made the right choice. While driving back my pager went off and I knew that was my General Manager trying to find me to alert me too return, which I already decided to do. The constant news reports on the radio only caused me to step on the gas and get back as soon as possible.
Once back I hurried to the General Manager’s office, where he was glued to the TV and he asked me to stay with him and watch as we discussed what measures we should, if any, take as it became very clear our country was under attack. I called my supervisors at both hotels and gave them specific instructions, based on my prior training, as at that time, there were no Security Department specific guidelines or instructions as how to react. It would only be days before we would get the word to initiate development of Security Instructions on how to respond should any of our hotels ever became a target of such an attack by any terrorist ideology. I use the word “Ideology” rather than country or nation as these acts are performed by enemies who believe in a specific ideology rather than a national threat from a country or nation. Although the cause of terrorist acts are a direct result of a specific “Ideology”, we cannot forget that there are countries or nations who are “sponsors” of such aggressive actives, and I think we all know what countries or nations are involved in sponsoring such terroristic aggression on the “Western World”. We should never confuse the “Ideology” with the religions or governments of the world; it is a mindset, a way of thinking by a growing number of “Ideologically different thought processes” that many of us will never comprehend. It is my own personal opinion, as children of God; we must never condemn cultures for the acts of those who are mesmerized by an “Ideology” that drives those who have a deep inner hate for, not just America, but all who differ in their beliefs.
Remembering September 11, 2001, is for all of us to do, not just one political party or the other, for it was America that was attacked on that fateful day, we were all the target of a warped ideology and if at no other time, this time, should be set aside for remembering those who not only died or were maimed that day, but all those who responded, volunteered, prayed or just felt the pain of horrors seldom imagined by anyone never experiencing the suffering inflicted by those who hate, hate to the point of wanting someone to pay a price for not believing in what they believe in. If you have not guessed it, I am having difficulty in expressing my thoughts today, just as I did ten years ago, just a few days from now, when September 11 will once again draw Americans together, although it will never match that of those who were either there, lost someone, felt their loss, experienced the anxiety of the unknown, or just knowing it happened. I still find it incredible that there are those who still, to this day, believe it either did not happen in the way it did or that it was a conspiracy by our Government or Israel, or both! All the evidence in the world will never change their minds, nothing can as it diminishes their being, their absolute hatred of their own government or country or both. It’s really very sad, for they live in a world of make believe, one that fits their lack of self worth.
There are many who hate President Bush for reasons known only to them. So easy to blame a man (President Bush was just a man, who was elected to lead our country, but just a man) for the failings of a government gone wild. Congress wrote the bills and Bush signed them into law. But nothing he did or signed will ever compare to the past few years under a president who believes in “Progressive Values”, again, our current president, is just a man, but one who embraces socialistic values, chooses to believe in the very political “Ideology” that conforms to a nation absent of God, absent of the ideals of an America able to create a growing economy without the help of an administration and congress that depletes America’s wealth by Its redistribution, and this uncaring President who’s intent is to “Transform” an America that was doing fairly well, until he decided that he, who knows nothing of governing, is the smartest man alive. Another sad result of taking away what rightfully belongs to “We the People”, but not for long, as we do intend to set thing right come November of 2012. Sorry, I intended this to be a time to remember what took place 10 years ago, and forgotten by so many so soon. How can we behave in the way we do, if we really do remember the tragedy of 9/11. We must never allow those in this country distort the truth about what happened that day. An enemy, who’s “Ideology” differs from ours to the point of a hatred so intense they plan every day, every month and every year, to do it again, and again, and again, and they will!
As our President destroys the credibility of a wonderful nation, blessed by God, begs for forgiveness for being the most giving country that ever existed, and pushes our allies away, selling them out by giving not only our secrets, but theirs to those who will use them to destroy us, danger grows daily that our once great nation will soon join the ranks of the third world. This President cannot spend our way to prosperity, he must allow America to do its magic and grow its self, something she has always done, given the chance. Before the President got up and spoke to the “Union followers” in Detroit the other day, Jimmy Hoffa ranted about the “Union’s going to war with the “Tea Party” saying: “Let’s take these SOB’s out”! Then the President speaks, as usual, about nothing, just more gibberish on the same old things (spending money). This, just days before we are to recall the horrors of 9/11. While the “progressives” talk hate, “We the People” (The Tea Party) talk about restoring America’s greatness and remembering those how gave it all, on a day America should never, ever forget. If I am right, and I pray that I am wrong, what happened on September 11, 2001, will soon happen again, maybe not in the same way, but if you think that because Osama bin Laden has been eliminated, those who follow him have not been planning how to do something even more horrific than what took place 10 years ago, you live in a dream world. Until September is gone and October begins, my fears of a response to replicate in some way, what took place on 9/11m will haunt me, and my “gut” is seldom wrong, I just pray I have an upset stomach and my over active imagination has been in overdrive the past few days.
I ask that all those of like minds, “We the People” spend the next few days praying for our nation, and once we feel that the threat of those who hate us has diminished to the point we can think only of those we should be thinking of during this time of remembrance. My father worked at the Pentagon, as one of my younger brother’s did. My father, mother and brother are buried at Arlington Cemetery (nothing to do with 9/11, although my brother died a month later) As a military family, I miss being able to call my father, brother, or one of my sons, to discuss the challenges of the day, but I know where they are, and I still talk to them through prayer, and know that if they could, they would be here to do their part in righting the wrongs of the world, that’s just who they were, how I miss them right now, and always, but especially right now.
As we enter the period of time that we look for the right person to lead our country, never forget, whoever we decide on, I mean the person nominated by the Republican Party to run for the highest office in our land, we all must get behind him or her and not debate further, to do so will divide us and that is what the Progressives are counting on, hoping for, praying for (those who pray)! We must stand united and make sure that a conservative sits in the White House come Jan, 2013. We must not fail; to fail is to participate in the decline of our great nation, a nation blessed by God! If for no other reason, let’s do it for all those innocent people who got up on September 11, 2001, a beautiful sunny day, and went to work, never a clue that hours later that morning so many would perish at the hands of those who’s ideology bred hatred for “We the People”, and we really do not forget!
