Night Terrors

I went to bed last night dreading waking up this morning because no one knows if the threats of terrorism will mar this day of remembrance.

On CNBC this morning, prior to the start of the first remembrance ceremony, one of the commentators was moved to tears as he explained to listeners that the families of the women who were pregnant on 9-11-2001 were asked if they wanted the words, “and her unborn child,” inscribed with her name on the New York City Memorial. It was a minute before he could continue, and when he did, he said that is the true terror of this day, that those men, in the name of their god, could join the early-morning crowds at American airports, stand in line with their victims, board planes with their victims, look their victims in the eye – men, women, and children – and know that not only were they going to die that morning, but that their fellow passengers would also die in a heinous act of mass murder committed in the name of a foreign god most of them did not know exists.

This is the first time that I have heard bold truth, rather than apathetic appeasement, for what happened, the truth of a person who says what others believe, but are afraid to say outright in a politically-correct environment of feigned tolerance of that which is intolerable.

The terrorists lived among US, they blended in with US, they singled US out because they would not be US, even though they used our religious tolerance as the foundation for their terrorist attacks. And they still live among US, still plan attacks against US, but we are too afraid of public opinion to publicly recognize that reality and accept that the US has to do whatever it takes to protect its citizens from foreign acts of war committed on our soil.

And, while it is true that not all Iraqis, not all Afghanis, not all people of foreign descent attacked US, when you attack one of US, you attack all of US, and you become the enemy for the rest of your country. When an act of war is committed against a country, the citizens of that country strike back: that is the nature of war. We may call the attacks of 9-11, as well as the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 terrorist attacks, but they were acts of war – and those acts of war result in battle. As so many authors remind us, including John Hersey in his account of Hiroshima, during war there are no innocent civilians, just the enemy we are fighting.

We believe that if you commit the act of war, you’ll get war not just against those who acted for you, but against your nation, because when one of yours attacks US, you all attack US.

It is ten years since the acts of war committed by foreign terrorists against US on 9-11-01, and nine years of solemn ceremonies mark that anniversary. The names of all those who were killed are read, one by one, to remind US of all those people who showed up at the airports that morning, stood in crowds waiting to board with those who planned to kill them, waited in slowly-moving lines to find their assigned seats along with those who were committed to kill them, perhaps smiled as they were seated in proximity to religious zealots who believed that their god would smile with favor upon them for the heinous acts of mass murder they were about to commit. And innocent civilians screamed in terror as those planes took them to their deaths.

It is the ultimate irony that religious America begs US to pray for those who are committed to annihilating US in the name of their own religious beliefs, but pillories Chaz Bono for accepting the invitation to participate in Dancing with the Stars. Focus the prayers on citizens who are still the targets of terrorists, who are still at the mercy of those who are committed to kill US to protect their own religious rights.

Today's headline: 77 US troops wounded in attack on Afghan base. Pray for our service members who stand and fight while America's religious zealots kneel and pray for Chaz to see the error of his life.