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2009
Soap Box Archives Remembering 9/11 I was getting ready to ride my stationary bike on September 11, 2001. My routine was to watch a video of one of the Titans games that I had recorded while I exercised, but my wife (now ex) told me to turn on the TV; a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I turned on the Today show and saw smoke emanating from one of the towers. The preliminary reports were saying that it was a small commuter jet that had lost control and hit the tower. As sad as the news was, I was really focused on my exercise routine, and had lost almost 70lbs at the time. As cold as it sounds now, I thought to myself, "Wow, that's a terrible tragedy…. Okay, I'm going to work out now." Before I could hit play on my VCR, the second plane smashed into the second tower. In that moment, the world changed forever. This was not an accident. This was a coordinated attack on the United States of America, and it was just beginning. It was like watching a bad movie, but it was all too real. Needless to say, I never rode my bike. I called my dad and told him what was happening. He and my mom were renewing their handgun permits, and hadn't heard the news of the attacks. Before the morning was over, we saw the aftermath of the plane which crashed into the Pentagon, smoke and rubble and panic where two majestic towers once stood, and sketchy reports of a 4th plane which failed to hit its intended target after it was brought down by the brave souls aboard who attempted to take back the plane from the hijackers. God forbid I'm ever in a situation like that, but if I was, I would like to think I would fight to the end like the heroes aboard United Flight 93 did. The rest of the day can only be described as surreal. I remember having an almost numb feeling all day as I cancelled the meetings I had scheduled, and stayed home from work to continue to watch the unbelievable events that were unfolding. I noticed that the skies were unusually clear, as there were no jet trails above because air traffic had been grounded, and there was the anticipation that things weren't over. I kept anticipating another wave of attacks that, thank God, never happened. We rejoiced when the two Port Authority cops who were trapped in the World Trade Center wreckage were rescued, and watched in continued disbelief as other buildings in the complex fell in the following days. In the end, almost 3,000 people died in the attacks in New York City, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, PA, the worst act of terrorism on U.S. soil in history, but the reality is that it could have been much worse. Out of the ashes of tragedy, an almost unprecedented sense of American pride, and unity arose, just the opposite effect of what the terrorists intended. Our world changed on September 11, 2001, and it was an eye-opening experience for me. I became much more cognizant of politics and world events, and still am to this day. Unfortunately, a liberal media, entertainment industries, many college professors and the politicization of the War on Terror by Democrats managed to undo a lot of the unity that the 9/11 attacks sparked. President George W. Bush's perception went from that of a protector and unifier to a villain thanks to Michael Moore and other like-minded individuals on the far-left in Hollywood and Washington, D.C. Not to say that he didn't make mistakes in both the war, and other domestic issues, but he was not, as some liberals would assert, either a blithering idiot or a diabolical genius who likely orchestrated the attacks. It's disturbing how far we have drifted from the pride we felt in the aftermath. On the eve of the 8th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, that mental heavyweight, Charlie Sheen, has again demonstrated his brilliance as a 9/11 Truther by urging President Obama to investigate and reveal that the attacks were an inside job, and that that Pentagon was actually hit by missile, and not American Flight 77. There were 59 passengers and crew, not including the hijackers, on American Flight 77. What happened to them, Mr. Sheen? Of course, I'm sure in your mind they were lined up in front of a firing squad and fired on by George W. Bush himself. To show how out of touch the far-left Hollywood elites are, one has to look no further than Barbra Streisand's husband, James Brolin who told the hosts of a New York area radio station "Happy 9/11" when he was being interviewed in 2007. Needless to say, the hosts were not amused, and minced no words in letting him know how they felt. It is a catastrophe in itself that we have allowed ourselves, as a country, to become so divided, to stray so far away from our principals and have not maintained that unity that we gained in the midst of great sorrow of 9/11. I can only hope and pray that it doesn't take another tragedy on the scale of the attacks of September 11th, 2001 for us to unify us again. One thing that seems to have happened is that we're never reminded of what took place that day. Fox News may show the twin towers collapsing on the 9/11 anniversaries, but I can't remember the last time I saw the footage. And to make matters worse, the current administration is trying to turn what should be a day of remembrance into a call to community service to further its own agenda. Today we need to remember those who lost their lives on 9/11… the victims, the firefighters, the police, and the brave men and women who have given their lives on the battlefield since 9/11 to make sure that the fight doesn't come back to our shores.
Charlie Daniels, Jr.
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