Remembering 9/11

                Tomorrow we will commemorate the 15^th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on America by radical Islamist terrorists. On that terrible day, 2,977 innocent people were killed. September 11 is now known as Patriot Day. Patriotism was definitely shown that day. The nation turned “red, white, and blue” because American flags were flying at nearly every home and business.

                Lee Edwards at The Daily Signal reminds his readers of some of the patriot acts of that terrible day. “There was an overnight surge in military enlistments by teens and young adults often dismissed as spoiled and self-absorbed. Thousands of Americans lined up to give blood. Tens of millions of dollars in donations flowed to the American Red Cross and to the Salvation Army and other faith-based organizations. Attendance at churches, synagogues, and mosques doubled and tripled. There was a runaway sale of American flags….”

                Edwards lists “a series of radical challenges” endured by Americans and then gives them this compliment:
“Any other nation would have collapsed under such a succession of crises, but America still stands strong and resolute because it rests on what the Founding Fathers institutionalized and Alexis de Tocqueville observed – a unique mix of political and economic liberty and faith in `we the people.’ … If the people respond as they have in the past, we will have, not the divided `red’ and `blue’ America of the mass media and political junkies, but a united red, white, and blue America resting on faith and freedom.”

                I like that idea! I literally hate the fact that our nation is divided by so many colors: red and blue (politics), black and white (race), green and red (wealth), etc. Why is it so hard for so many of us to think of ourselves as Americans first? Why can’t we be simply red, white, and blue?

                Steven Bucci also of The Daily Signal discusses ten lessons that Americans should have learned over the past 15 years. These lessons would have made us a better, stronger, more unified nation instead of being more divided.

                Here are Bucci’s ten basic lessons with more details in his post. “(1) Every nation is vulnerable, and democracies are even more so…. (2) America is resilient…. (3) Terrorism is a much longer-term foe than any nation-state opponent…. (4) America must maximize both security and civil liberties…. (5) Every American must know their principles…. (6) You don’t always get to pick your foe, or when you will fight them…. (7) The `baddest’ and best military in the world (and America has it) can still have trouble defeating an asymmetric foe…. (8) America’s leaders need to lead…. (9) America’s youth is still superlative…. (10) Lastly, America is not perfect, but its people, and frankly the rest of the world, do believe it is exceptional, and expect it to act the part….”

                These are important lessons for all Americans to learn for themselves and to guide their choices for leaders. America is an exceptional country because the “experiment” of the Founding Fathers produced an outstanding Constitution and government structure. America can become the leader of free nations once again by learning these ten lessons and living the principles behind them.