9/11: The 19th Anniversary of America’s Second “Day of Infamy”

The Attack on America, that occurred 19-years ago Friday, was, thankfully, only the second time in the last 79-years that our nation has been directly attacked by an enemy force.  That one, unfortunately, resulting in somewhat higher total fatalities than the first attack on our soil, which was, of course, the surprise and catastrophic bombing of our naval facilities at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by a Japanese attack from the air, on December 7, 1941.

Those of you reading this are already fully aware of the dates and events just presented. We must remember that those young people now in high school, entering college, or even senior year in college, understandably have no memory of 9/11. They were far too young.  As such and because of public education’s winds of change, we’ve gone ahead included such reference details, because none of us are likely truly convinced that such national, human-caused, life-altering events, triggering in each case, a forceful American (and international) military response, are even being taught in our schools today, where the history classes we once attended have given way, at least in some measure, to a questionable replacement called “social studies,” where we can freely assume that way too much emphasis is placed on “social,” and not nearly enough on “studies.”  And, regardless, the need remains for complete and factual (not Progressively invented) U.S. history, taught from our founding through at least those to attack eras, if not to the present. Do our HS and college students even know about the event that forced us into World War II?  Are they taught about 9/11 and how that attack propelled us into almost 20 straight years, now, of foreign combat in the on-going and comprehensive effort to stop the murderous international rampages of militant Islam?

Back then to that terrible and shocking second historic attack day, devastating actions that would suddenly knock America out of its complacent slumber, radical Islamic terrorists commandeered commercial airliners, filled with innocent passengers, and intentionally flew two of them into each of the Twin Towers in New York City, then crashing another into the Pentagon in D.C., and, lastly, to a very definitely unintended target in a rural field in Pennsylvania. A rural field, rather than the White House or the Capitol Building, thanks to the patriotism and courage of several male passengers aboard that fourth plane, by then aware of what the militants planned, who chose to rush the flight deck (“Let’s Roll”), ultimately causing their plane to divert and crash, well short of its intended metropolitan D.C. target. All of the passengers on all four, fully-fueled, planes, along with the dastardly (being polite) suicidal Islamic terrorists, who had taken control of each in the air, perished in those terrifying brief flights and crushing impacts. Many New York City first-responders (fire especially) also died, either that same morning, or months/years later from the after-effects, as a direct result of their valiant rescue attempts.  Military and civilian employees in the Pentagon also perished that day.

September 11, 2001 was a dark and shocking day for Americans. Certainly, for those personnel and family members directly affected.  As some said at the time, it was the day that America’s innocence was lost. The immediate result, once shock turned into anger, were almost instantly re-generated patriotic feelings.  All over America, our beautiful flag emerged again, no longer just taken for granted, stored somewhere in the store house of our minds.  On homes, cars, trucks, buildings, even lapel pins, America’s flag was proudly displayed just about everywhere one might look.

There, in the aftermath of this sudden, terrifying, and costly-in-American-lives-lost national tragedy, we embraced our comforting flag, and while our great military leaders and members quickly began the planning for their rapid and forceful response.  There, at that strained and challenging time, Americans became a nation of one.  We were united.  United in concern for each other. United in concern for our nation and future, within our wonderful land of freedom., now attacked and hurting. You could sense that overwhelming united feeling all across the now-firmly United States.  Sadly, however, that desired feeling of oneness wasn’t to last.  Oh, it did for a few weeks.  Then, soon, perhaps inevitably, we went back to focusing on our daily lives, back to family, self, individual challenges, concerns, and responsibilities. While some remained visible, for the most part, those proudly displayed flags were put away, to be displayed again, only a day at a time, for America’s annual patriotic holidays.

9/11 did bring Americans a sense of national unity, albeit relatively short-lived.  Today, by stark contrast, it feels like we are very much a national divided.  Societal/political divisions that began with President Bush II and our then-initiated, increasingly controversial among some, prolonged fight against radical Islamic terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Divisions that continued and were purposely expanded, by design, during the Obama administration, creating the further gaping between Americans of differing races, genders, and sexual preferences, following exactly the specified socialist “transition” instructions promoted by admitted American Marxist Sol Alinsky, and other followers.  His prescription called for first dividing a nation into sub-groups, then bringing those separate socially/politically created groups (race, gender, and sexual whatever) together into one collective force of those feeling distanced by society, and now convinced of “victimhood,” feeling justly due satisfaction and solutions for their grievances.

Today’s situation is a far cry from America’s collective unity on and after December 7, 1941, as it was on and after September 11, 2001.  May it not take another similar or worse human-generated national catastrophe to again pull Americans together as one.  One people, regardless of race and gender, united in support of the common goals of a free, prosperous, and independent nation.  And one people free of the deadly coronavirus, through effective treatment and vaccine, hopefully, in the foreseeable future.

Despite our apparent present differences, despite the current effort among some (politicians and citizens) to replace individual freedoms with the Progressive-Socialists dream of a totally government-dominated system of life, for at least that one day, September 11, 2020, and hopefully longer, may we all consider the loss of innocent American lives that day, 19-years ago.  And how it reminded us then, and perhaps yet again, of the priceless gift of life we share in this blessed land of liberty.  How fortunate we all are to be living here in America, a nation with faults, yes, but still the greatest nation in the history of the world.

And so, we are grateful to God for all those Americans, of commitment and courage (those already serving and those who joined), who stepped forward to defend our magnificent sovereign nation in response to the first and second, and hopefully only, Attacks on America.  Ours is, thankfully, the land of the free and the home of the brave.  May it always be so.