September 11th, Never Forgotten

It has almost been a year since I've been writing columns for the Middlesboro Daily News and posting them to my blogspot account. My first column was targeted at providing correct information about the economic bailout package presented by former President Bush (in late September). I never had a chance to write a column that focused on the attacks on September 11th, 2001.

This date will live in infamy, much in the same way the attacks on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 resonates with a previous generation. It is a date, and an event, that will forever shape the minds of today's generation.

Much like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, or when Neil Armstrong took those historic steps on the moon, we will all remember where we were at, what we were doing, and our first reactions to the attacks that fateful day.

Eight years later, we are a nation that has been propelled in a dramatically different way because of these attacks. We can only conjecture what our lives and our nation would look like had we never been victimized by religious extremists organized by Usama bin Laden.

What if we had never declared war on terror? What if we had not actively sought out those who were responsible for the attacks that day? What if we had never taken preventative measures to thwart terrorist attacks? Would the liquid bombers have been successful (the reason why you can't take liquids on a plane in large quantity)? Would New York City have made it this long without a large terrorist attack (the numerous planned attacks aimed at the NYC subway system)? Would Afghanistan and Iraq be uncontested breeding grounds for terrorism?

I can only speculate. But what I do know is that there has been a lot of sacrifice and a lot of tears shed since that day. Those who were lost to those unscrupulous acts of evil should never be forgotten. The bravery of the New York Fire Department, the New York Police Department, and all those servicemen and women who worked to restore order to the chaos should never be forgotten. The bravery of the men and women on United Airlines Flight 93 should never be forgotten. The bravery of the men and women in our armed forces should never be forgotten. The compassion and patriotism that we as a nation demonstrated that day should never be forgotten.

What we should also not forget are the actions of Former President Bush. The nation stood behind him, united after these attacks, as he began his new campaign based on the promises he made to the American people. President Bush promised us that the individuals responsible for these attacks would come to justice and that he would take all necessary actions to prevent a subsequent attack.

And I think we forgot that somewhere along the line. Did President Bush act inappropriately while trying to defend our nation? I personally don't think it's that black and white, but more shades of gray. I personally think that President Bush took up his cause and fought to protect us from other terrorist attacks, even when his methods lost popularity. President Bush sacrificed approval ratings for our safety in much the same way that a parent sacrifices the admiration of their children for their safety. Bush would rather have been a good President than a cool one.

So despite what the media says, and despite what other people say about him, I will never forget the protection that President Bush provided for this country during his eight years in office.