“The necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost
circumspection, deliberation, fortitude and perseverance.”
Samuel Adams, 1771
So far, so good. The unimaginable horror visited upon America’s largest city and Washington’s military nerve center served to bring forth an unbounded display of patriotism, prayer and resolute determination, binding the country together as one.
On Monday, September 10th all was normal. Certainly, there were petty grievances and disagreements, both personal and politically, but that’s a fact of life so to speak.
Although the general economy continued to slip, no one could foresee what was to transpire in a matter of minutes the following morning. The reassuring rays of the sun bathed down as always and people began their day in the usual manner.
But, unbelievably, the world changed forever that Tuesday morning. Long-held complacency evaporated as New York’s twin beacons of our free, capitalistic
system burned and disintegrated before our eyes as we stared dumbstruck at the live telecasts from the scene and saw a large section of the Pentagon become enveloped in smoke and flame. Then, a fourth airliner exploded south of Pittsburgh as it turned toward the nation’s Capital on yet another deadly mission. Four commercial aircraft loaded with unwary passengers and fuel enough for transcontinental flights had become missiles of destruction and death.
In the days and years to come we will have to adjust our definition of “normal” in order to relate it to still unknown daily circumstances. Normal is a misleading word no matter how one may perceive it. A normal day to a rancher’s family in West Texas differs considerably from that of a pipe-fitter’s life in, say, Detroit. The comfort contained in the word is that things are as they regularly are; happenings we, as individuals, have become accustomed to.
A terrible war has been thrust upon our country, unlike any we have ever experienced in our 225 years of sovereign history. This enemy wears no uniform nor identifiable name. In righteous anger, we would like to strike back with overwhelming military force, but we’d just be jousting windmills. We must resolve to be patient while plans gradually fall in place like pieces of a scattered jigsaw puzzle.
Already, our intelligence apparatus and those of our worldwide alliance have made giant steps toward tracking down conspirators here at home and in several foreign lands. The administration’s mature, experienced cadre of leaders could hardly be more suited to the task at hand. President Bush has clearly delineated what must be done in order to punish the perpetrators and those who harbor them with a calm, yet steely resolve.
Even with the shoulder-to-shoulder cohesiveness and patriotism displayed by our citizenry, there remains an understandable air of apprehension and a degree of paranoia: the basic human fear of the unknown. The terrorists with their well-planned attacks hit us where it hurts, upsetting and confusing our lives and the nation’s economy. But, we have learned several lessons the hard way. We now have come to realize it can happen here in such a strategic and tactical way the average person could never have even imagined.
We are awake now and must do our level best to go about our regular business to help our economy get back up to par; to belie the enemy’s belief that we are unable or unwilling to respond to call for true patriotism and dedication.
We, as citizens of the USA must remain vigilant and resolved without wavering for as long as it takes to hunt down and destroy those who jolted us from our peaceful and complacent foundations. The tragedy of September 11th must be a constant reminder of loss of innocent lives and everything we hold dear and perpetuate our current patriotism, lest it begins to fade in the years to come.
Now, is the hour to follow the lead of cool, experienced heads and continue to do so, instead of starting to get cold feet. Only then can we begin the long road back to normal lives. Whatever “normal” may be.