Reflections 6 Years Hence
For those of you who haven't checked out this morning's Situation Awareness, you should do it.
Go ahead and click play:
Looking back on September 11, 2001, I'm struck by how little America has learned.
As a nation, we've grown accustomed, over the last six years, to giving up our liberties and our way of life out of fear. Sure, the government said that we need to continue to live as we always have, or the terrorists won, but then they listen to our phone calls, they keep people locked up without trial they torture...pardon me, they use "exceptional interrogation techniques" to gain information of dubious quality at best.
Like many people, I was personally affected by that day. I was one of the lucky ones. Those I love managed to survive unscathed, but it took several days to know that. I remember the fear, the pain and the anger I experienced in a random pattern inside me. I empathize more than I care to admit with those who weren't as lucky as I was.
I look at this country today, nearly six years later and I realize that we, as a country, have forgotten.
We haven't forgotten that we were attacked, not on a jingoistic level, anyway. What we have forgotten is who we are.
We are Americans. We are free people. Each one of us holds a dream deep within our hearts and within our spirits that is a dream of freedom, liberty and peace.
We are a people who believe in equality. We are a people who believe in justice, not vengeance.
We are, in truth, a people who believe in the principles laid forth in our constitution: the very foundation of what our nation is and is meant to be.
We have forgotten that.
It's time to remember.
Go ahead and click play:
Looking back on September 11, 2001, I'm struck by how little America has learned.
As a nation, we've grown accustomed, over the last six years, to giving up our liberties and our way of life out of fear. Sure, the government said that we need to continue to live as we always have, or the terrorists won, but then they listen to our phone calls, they keep people locked up without trial they torture...pardon me, they use "exceptional interrogation techniques" to gain information of dubious quality at best.
Like many people, I was personally affected by that day. I was one of the lucky ones. Those I love managed to survive unscathed, but it took several days to know that. I remember the fear, the pain and the anger I experienced in a random pattern inside me. I empathize more than I care to admit with those who weren't as lucky as I was.
I look at this country today, nearly six years later and I realize that we, as a country, have forgotten.
We haven't forgotten that we were attacked, not on a jingoistic level, anyway. What we have forgotten is who we are.
We are Americans. We are free people. Each one of us holds a dream deep within our hearts and within our spirits that is a dream of freedom, liberty and peace.
We are a people who believe in equality. We are a people who believe in justice, not vengeance.
We are, in truth, a people who believe in the principles laid forth in our constitution: the very foundation of what our nation is and is meant to be.
We have forgotten that.
It's time to remember.
2 Comments:
We are Americans. We are free people. Each one of us holds a dream deep within our hearts and within our spirits that is a dream of freedom, liberty and peace.
We are a people who believe in equality. We are a people who believe in justice, not vengeance.
We are, in truth, a people who believe in the principles laid forth in our constitution: the very foundation of what our nation is and is meant to be.
Words which needed repeating.
And words which should be guiding every American... but most of all guiding our leadership.
Where, in the name of all that every American holds sacred, is that leadership? Not a leadership which parrots those words, while doing everything in their power to undermine them. A leadership which knows what those words mean and does everything in its power to ensure that those words live.
An excellent post, Rev. Darko. And thank you for your kind acknowledgement of my broadcast this morning.
Hans Meyer
Excellent post and you are so right.
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