Thirteen years ago on
September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorists under the banner of Al-Qaeda hijacked
four US airliners. Using them as guided
missiles, they struck at the perceived heart of American military and economic
might, toppling the twin towers of the World Trade Center, smashing through the
rings of the Pentagon, and targeting Washington, DC with a final plane. What damage the final plane might have
wrought is unknown - passengers and crew courageously fought back against the
hijackers until the plane finally crashed near Shanksville, PA. Almost 3,000 Americans died in those attacks:
military, civilian, and first responders.
These were friends, neighbors, business men and women, police, fire,
EMS, husbands, wives, daughters and sons, military, government service, and
contractors.
In the thirteen years
since, American has grown weary of constant threat assessments, military
campaigns, and the toll of the War on Terror.
The toll has indeed been high, currently standing at over 66,000
American casualties (~9,655 killed, ~56,422 wounded) and $5.4 trillion in
spending. The United States has asked
much of our military. Service members
barely out of high school have sacrificed their lives, or watched as their friends
and brothers in arms died beside them.
The mental toll is mounting as well, surpassing 200,000 diagnosed cases
of PTSD since 2001, and veteran suicides continue to rise each year. Our military has sacrificed their lives,
futures, and families for what they believe in.
They've done this in forgotten corners all across the globe.
Unfortunately, given
the continued, and perhaps even enhanced threat presented today, it is
extremely likely that the men and women of the military will continue to be
called upon to continue sacrificing. In
the current budget situation, those sacrifices may be even greater, as the
threat continues but resources shrink in terms of both equipment and training
for the troops and in compensation and benefits for their service. Similar cuts are happening to our first
responders: police, fire, and EMS. The
threat is real, and the likelihood of a confrontation with actors such as the
Islamic State becomes more and more possible each day. This confrontation could take place thousands
of miles from our shores, or it may take place down the street from your
house. No matter where it occurs, our
troops or our first responders will be asked to bear the brunt of the danger.
As you reflect today
on the events of September 11th and the years since, honor and remember those
who have sacrificed. You could do this
through supporting charities, such as those we have profiled, or one of the
many others who support our military and first responders. You could volunteer to serve with a local
charity in your community. But above
all, live your life in a way that those who sacrificed did not do so in
vain. Prepare yourselves and your
communities so that you can serve each other in trying times, whether terrorist
attack or natural disaster. Reach out to
others and build strong bonds that defy those who would seek our ruin. Live every day in a moral and ethical way and
accept personal responsibility.
Participate in your government - local, state, and federal. It matters not what side of the aisle you
claim, whether left, right, or center.
What matters is that the people of the United States live up to the
ideals upon which the country was founded.
Freedom, justice, equality - these ideals are a slap in the face to
those who hate us.
Live your lives every
day in a way that honors those who have sacrificed so much for this country -
be they military, first responder, or civilian.
They deserve no less.
"It is the common fate
of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition
upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition
if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the
punishment of his guilt." – John Philpot Curran
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