It hardly seems possible that four years has gone by. And yet the memory of that day is starting to fade. It'll never completely go away, nor should it.

September 11th has additional significance for me personally. On this day in 1993, my wife and I said "I Do" in front of a church full of friends and family. It was as beautiful a late summer day then as it was that morning four years ago. It's pretty hard to forget your wedding anniversary when it coincides with such an significant event in American history.

My wife and I were unsure what to do late that evening. We had already arranged for babysitting and we had planned to go out somewhere to celebrate. We didn't feel much like celebrating but being as it was such a long and emotionally draining day, we felt like we needed to get out of the house. We decided to get a bite to eat and go see a movie.

The restaurant was fairly empty, although being a Tuesday night this was not out of the ordinary. I had heard that President Bush was to make a statement at 8:30 and I wanted to watch it, but there were no TVs available so we headed on to the theater. It was one of those smaller venues with two or three screens that usually showed movies only after they had been out for a while. As we sat in our seats, we noticed that we were the only ones there. Some theaters had actually closed that evening and we were surprised that this particular one was open. We saw "The Others" and if it wasn't scary enough to begin with, try watching it all alone in a dark theater.

It takes place during World War II, on an island off the coast of England. There is one scene where the mother, played by Nicole Kidman, is reading to her children. One of the kids asks mummy, "Why are we at war with the Germans?" Without missing a beat, Kidman's character says (quite matter-of-factly) "Because we're the Goodies and they're the Baddies". For a split second, this answer seemed to me to be too simplistic and black-and-white - which is certainly the same point of view most of the Left still have today. But it wasn't long before it clicked that this was as apt a description of what we faced that day as any I would ever hear.

It WAS that simple. The United States and her allies, though far from perfect themselves, represented the Good that is the love of freedom and liberty. And the Islamofascists who would target innocent men, women and children and wantonly murder them represented the Bad - as Bad as you can imagine. There really is no middle ground. Either you support the cause of Hope or you tolerate the force of fear.

God help America if most of its citizens one day decide that the principles and ideals we hold dear are - in Cindy Sheehan's words - no longer "worth fighting for". However, I believe that will not happen. I remember clearly the words of President Bush when he addressed the Congress and the nation nine days after the attacks: "We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail".

We must always remember what is at stake. And we must always hold the families of those we lost in our prayers.

Posted by: Gary at 07:26 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Excellent post. I agree with you that the distinction really is that simple. The mentality of the Left is the same one that will have you equate dictatorships and corrupt regimes as having the same moral equivalence and voice in the UN as we have. It's the view that we have no right to call it like we see it; that we should always look to see things from their point of view and what we need is sensitivity and more understanding. "F" that. I blogged about my own experiences. Didn't talk about the day of, but how I was affected personally with knowledge of the death of Ron Gamboa, who I knew, and who was a passenger on the 2nd plane to hit the South Tower. My favorite tribute is Remember the Blood of Heroes.

Posted by: Wordsmith from Nantucket at September 11, 2005 10:57 AM (nrGCx)

2 Happy Anniversary to you and your wife... Excellent post!

Posted by: GroovyVic at September 11, 2005 05:36 PM (/8Xom)

3 Congrats on your anniversary Wonderful post. It is sad how the left sees the death of a terrorist as being equal to the death of an innocent. They have lost all sence of perspective.

Posted by: NYgirl at September 11, 2005 07:16 PM (JEAUq)

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