The word "tragedy" implies that there was no intent behind the attacks. In the current parlance of our overeducated elites who seek to absolve blame from all perpetrators of the most heinous acts and spread it to society, or some nebulous segment thereof, it is no wonder our sense of unity on 9/11/01 has been lost in the decade hence.
Those who yearn for that lost sense of unity have forgotten the price by which that unity was bought. At least on that day ten years ago, there was no question in anyone's mind who our enemy was or what had happened. It was only a decade of propaganda from our mainstream media, a deluge of politically correct dogma, and the all-too-soon remembrance of the left's "stolen election" that has brought us back almost full circle to the state of mind our country was in up to the minute of the attacks: bitterness at the results of an election, distraction caused by yet another Washington scandal, and a preoccupation with entitlements.
Funny enough, in the ten years since 9/11, and in the seething white hot liberal rage against George W. Bush, his supposed "stealing of the election" and everything the Bush administration stood for then and in the decade hence, I have yet to hear anyone utter the words, "If only Al Gore had been President on 9/11."
I am sitting and watching the names being read at the memorial which has succeeded only in dressing up the holes in the ground rather than defiantly re-raising the towers, something many of us assumed would happen in the immediate aftermath. We are left with a memorial that only can "reflect on the absence," as if we are incapable of standing up again.
This speaks to the mindset of a certain segment of our society who is, and always has been, uncomfortable with the idea of American might. This is the same segment that now places entitlements above all; looks to the almighty Federal Government to keep us safe, provide for us, and above all, not to provoke certain elements into attacking us again, even if it is this very weakness that provokes those elements. This is the segment of our society that is comfortable with American decline and it is a vocal segment.
I cannot help but remember that on September 11, 2001, it was not FEMA nor the Federal Goverment that mobilzed immediately on that day, but the local first responders who did what they were trained to do. They rushed in when others rushed out. Yet there is no separate memorial for the Firefighters or Police at the holess at Ground Zero. After all of the debate and resulting controversy about the memorial, what it should be, what it should not be; you would think that at least that part of it---the part of it honoring the first responders---would be something that even we, as a deeply divided nation, could agree upon.
But apparently not.
Perhaps that is why "Reflecting Absense" is apt; for truly we have lost something as Americans if we cannot even find room to honor the true heroes of that day.
Some of the best columns I have read on the 9/11 anniversary:
Retired Firefighter's Values reinforced since 9/11 - An article about my cousin, Firefighter Michael Carlo
A Decade of Heroes by Rich Lowry
We'll Never Get Over it, Nor Should We by Peggy Noonan
Let's Roll Over by Mark Steyn
Myth and Reality After 9/11 by Victor Davis Hanson
NEVER FORGET.
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