Unlike the typical American, I suppose, I slept through the actual strikes on September 11, 2001. I worked overnight at the time and my wife, who worked at home, finally woke me up around noon when she couldn’t stand it any longer.
She came into the bedroom practically in tears and announced that “there has been terrorism.” She began to rattle off the events of the morning, the planes, the Pentagon, and the towers, not just being hit, but actually collapsing. Coming out of a deep sleep, it was more than my mind could immediately process, it all sounded so unbelievable. I dragged myself out of bed and began the ritualistic process of following the news.
You may recall the national unity that came as a result of having been attacked and which seemed like the only good thing to come out of 9/11. You may also recall how quickly the minority of America-haters began to come out of the woodwork to proclaim that the country had asked for it because of, well, its mistreatment of almost everybody on the planet.
After the war on terror was in full progress, one of my favorite left-wing wack jobs was renowned actor, Woody Harrelson. He was living and working in London at the time and he wrote an article which appeared in a British newspaper and in which he basically proclaimed that the root of all evil in the world was his very own home country. A few choice quotes from that article include the following:
“The warmongers who stole the White House . . . have hijacked a nation’s grief and turned it into a perpetual war on any non-white country they choose to describe as terrorist.”
“This is a racist and imperialist war.”
And not in his article, but just said in public somewhere: “The war against terrorism is terrorism. The whole thing is just bullsh*t.”
Turns out that this kind of thinking, while not typical of the majority of Americans, is widespread enough to make one wonder where the resolve will come from to do the things necessary to defeat the apocalyptic terrorists who would destroy not only America, but all of Western civilization as well.
We all realize that the unity of post-9/11 America is long gone. The terrorists realize that too and will seek ways to divide us as well as to attack us. One can’t help but wonder how successful they might actually be, particularly if the solidly antiwar Democratic Party manages to take over the leadership of the country in the foreseeable future.ÂÂÂ
If that happens, say goodbye to the war on terror and hello to crime scene investigators, lawyers, constitutional rights and endless trials for terrorists, even as the planes and buildings fall down around us. Not exactly a happy prospect.
Greg Strange provides conservative commentary with plenty of acerbic wit on the people, politics, events and absurdities of our time. See more at his website: http://www.greg-strange.com/
