Subject:
AN OLD MARINE OFFERS ADVICE ON THE LEGACY OF
SEPTEMBER
11th, 2001
"DO
NOT FORGET"
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?"
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.
"DO
NOT FORGET"