Reflections on 9-11

          For me, muddled emotions mark that morning.  Construction was set to begin on our new home that Tuesday in late summer.  We awoke like so many that day to shocking news of mass murder.  In our house, the horror held our attention until the last possible moment.  Then, with the radio on, we drove to our rural property to meet with the builders. 

          Like any patriot, I get angry and sad when I reflect upon this day, but for me it is more complex.  I remember being somewhat surprised as the workers began showing up that morning.  Talk was about either the job or the attacks, nothing else.  To this day images of a bulldozer, smoothing a path to the site of our future home, mingle with visions of fire, death and destruction.

          Slowly, most of America has returned to life as it was before the attacks.  They say time heals all wounds, but I know that some wounds require more time than others.  Perhaps, because Osama bin Laden still lives free and millions in the Arab world see him as a hero, this injury to my physic remains raw. Those who have died fighting in Afghanistan at least knew they fought to defeat al-Qaeda, the Taliban and an evil ideology.  Most who died on this day in 2001 never knew why their lives were cut short.  

          But, life does go on.  The house we started building that day has become our home.  I have a new job, my sons both graduated from college, and one served four years in the army.  Life goes on, but so does the fighting.    

          We continue the fight against al-Qaeda, but it is also a war against all those who murder and call it righteous or “honor killing.” It is a war against theocracy and Sharia law.  It is a war against a medieval ideology that keeps woman uneducated, veiled and sequestered.  But, more than that, it is a war for democracy, for free will and freedom of expression. 

          Yes, this is a war against Islam in its current form.  Wake up America, before it is too late.  

Comments

[demonkk]

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