Flying, Freedom, Faces, and the Fight to Protect It All. (Right Truth Exclusive)

Flying, Freedom, Faces, and the Fight to Protect It All. --By R.J. Godlewski
© Tuesday, September, 11th, 2007, All Rights Reserved

I don’t fly much anymore. To be honest, I haven’t flown since I returned from the Amazon fifteen years ago. This isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy it – I’ve flown millions of miles through the air and love the adventure – I’ve just never had the opportunity lately. On any flight, whether during a short Detroit to Chicago hop when I used to come home during the weekends while stationed at Great Lakes Naval Training Command or on long flights over the Pacific Ocean, I always remember witnessing the subtle look of concern upon the faces of my fellow passengers when the plane took an unexpected and very noticeable dip due to turbulence. I cannot imagine the look upon one’s face as they realized that they were about to fly into crowded office buildings. Harder to grasp is the sheer horror and downright anger that must’ve been expressed within the faces of the passengers of United Flight 93 as they fought heroically to deny their hijackers a chance of reaching Washington for a fourth collision.

Today is the sixth anniversary of the terror attacks perpetrated on September 11th, 2001 and the first such anniversary that falls again on a Tuesday. Some events are just hard to place into perspective, even if millions of words had been written about them. It seems so long ago – a distant nightmare – when I awoke and walked into my living room to see Sara sitting on the sofa, concern etched deeply into her face, as the smoldering towers were just beginning to come down on international television. Sara was slowly dying herself, but never before or since had I seen such a look of anger, resentment, concern, and love for her fellow man. Fear was the one emotion that she didn’t show. I guess that she was secretly aware of her own demise and had accepted her fate long before I realized what was to come.

I’m positive that if there is an emotion capable of being expressed by a member of the human race, it was experienced on September 11th, 2001 and written about extensively since. I do not wish to repeat what already has been brought upon countless times. What thing is for certain, however. The terror attacks in Washington, D.C., New York, and Pennsylvania hit home for everybody. In fact, my aunt on whose farm I had often hunted died that previous weekend and if not for her funeral on Tuesday, her grandson would’ve been working somewhere near the point of impact in one of the towers. I don’t remember the details; I just know that I came away with a profound respect for divine intervention. I suppose that’s what matters in this topsy-turvy new world of ours.

America and the world took one on the nose that day, if the loss of 2,996 friends, neighbors, and fellow countrymen can be considered a ‘mere’ blow. We have survived since and we’ll continue to survive for as long as our Creator intends for us to live. Terrorists who are quite willing to die for their belief in Allah will never triumph over God’s plans for us – they only think that they have some control over our lives. Our nation has survived against enemies both small and powerful. We survived on the brink of nuclear disaster for nearly fifty years when global destruction was but only minutes away. We even survived our one losing war – an event ensured by our weak politicians and not our strong military. Of course, we shall also survive whatever the Islamist terrorists have planned for us.

If we couldn’t destroy ourselves during the American Civil War, I doubt very much that anyone else ever could. We are resilient, pragmatic, and very much love freedom. It is this last trait that is perhaps our greatest asset. Few other nations have known freedom the way that Americans have. Few other nations have earned freedom the way that Americans have. If there is a people on this planet, they are represented here within America. If there is a system of beliefs within this world, it is represented here within America. If there has been a mere thought uttered upon this planet it, too, has been uttered here within America. Just think about that for a moment.

The 9/11 hijackers and their Islamist overlords did not merely strike a dagger into the heart of America. They attacked the collective conscience of the entire planet. They broadly and irrevocably made a statement against freedom, free choice, and free will. They said that our beliefs, our mannerisms, our politics, and our economic choices were not to be tolerated by them and they would strike at us anywhere, in any manner, and for whatever reason that they so chose. In a sense, they decided that they weren’t going to allow us to be what we are. Obviously, they never counted on just who we are.

The America the terrorists fear is the kindest, gentlest, most compassionate, and without equal the most forgiving people that have ever walked upon this planet. We are as such because we actually believe that we are as such. Our way of life is not one that can be duplicated by wannabes or threatened by tyrants. They can’t defeat us because they simply cannot define us. Heck, even we aren’t always aware of how special our nation is. Most of us amble about in our daily lives, struggling to place food upon our table, keeping our kids out of trouble, and fully ignore the media and the leftist pundits who somehow equate evil with everything that we stand for.

Are we evil for believing in a God Who is more powerful than even existence itself? Are we evil for believing that individuals have a right to survive and, most importantly, succeed in a life of our own choosing? Are we evil for believing that innocent human life is to be protected at all costs? Are we evil for desiring to better the world through our gift-giving and assistance? No! Regardless of what our enemies and their supporters think, America is most emphatically not the Great Satan that the devil worshipers think that we are. Because we hold these truths as “self-evident” and because we really believe them – not just use them to sway gullible stooges like the Islamists do – we contain an inherent power unlike any other people that is recorded within history.

We stood boldly against King George III when he tried to enslave our dignity. We stood boldly against Adolf Hitler when he tried to conquer the free world. We stood boldly against the Soviet Union when they tried to elevate the worker beyond that which we reserve solely for our God. We shall also stand boldly against those who wish to force radical Islam upon us. As long as there is one American left on this planet, somewhere in the world, the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness will never fade from our planet. That we have existed, ensures that every society, every civilization from now on will instinctively know that there was once America, standing proudly and fighting fiercely so that others may live. If extraterrestrials ever descend upon our planet, there will always be one nation of people that existed solely for the people of that one nation – America.

September 11th, 2001 did not happen because of our vulnerabilities. It happened because of our compassion, our openness, and our welcoming of diverse peoples from all around the world. That some chose to strike at us, to kill some 3,000 of our fellow citizens, is not a stain upon the greatness of America but upon the weakness of places where our ideas are not fully realized as of yet. Yes, our nation fights for its right to exist. More often than not, we fight for others’ right to exist. In our port of New York is not a statue of a powerful woman calling for self-sacrifice as was in Moscow. There is not a statue of a muscular man raising an AK-47 as in Nicaragua. No, in our harbor of New York, not far from Ground Zero is the statue of a feminine lady welcoming all into her bosom of care. The statue was a gift from the people of France who knew what our nation meant to the world. More significant than this mere statue, however, is the combined love and sacrifice of the nation that she represents. Statues come and go, but the Spirit of America will always live on even through a multitude of 9/11 attacks.

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Remembering the victims of September 11, 2001 and Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Rosemary's Thoughts, DeMediacratic Nation, Adam's Blog, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Shadowscope, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Webloggin, The Amboy Times, Conservative Thoughts, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Comments

[Debbie]

Christi and Paul, thanks for the kind words. I know Mr. Godlewski appreciates them.

[Christi]

The best post I've read all day. Thank you, Debbie!

[Paul Champagne]

There is no way that America will lose in the long run. However, current political shenanigans in Congress may make the cost of our victory much dearer than need be.

The hearts and souls of the average Americans brims with patriotism ... unfortunately this is lacking in our representatives in DC