Here’s some perspective for you: A few days from now, 9/11 will be old enough to drink.
I can accept almost any reaction to that. Maybe the realization makes you feel old, or discouraged, or glad that Islamist terrorists haven’t inflicted similar damage since. You might regret that your kids were born into a world robbed of innocence, or maybe you wish they’d been old enough when it happened to grasp what it meant then and means now.
Perhaps it moves you to recall the loss of someone who died that day, or in the GWOT that followed, or after returning from war with demons only suicide could vanquish.
None of us can forget where we were and what we were doing when we heard we’d been attacked. Everyone remembers the spasm of patriotism and resolve in the weeks after the attacks.
And now here we are, solemnly turning pages in our national scrapbook. That’s pretty much the sum of it. That’s what we’re left with.
Much of what we do and know and feel is tied directly to that searing day, and almost any human reaction is justifiable. For an American with a soul, it all comes rushing back the week of the anniversary.
The farther I am from that Tuesday in 2001, the less sadness I feel. I no longer ache the way I once did. Anger remains, naturally, but I find myself having to split my ire between the terrorists and a populace that ultimately decided that it was better to be “safe” than free.
If 9/11 was a wake-up call, most Americans hit the snooze button and went back to sleep.
You won’t catch me pining for the so-called “unity” we’re told we must recapture — it was shallow and never had a chance to last. Its first and worst product was the misbegotten “Patriot Act,” which did more to assault individual Liberty than it ever did to prevent terrorism.
In fact, I contend that the “Patriot Act” paved the way for repressive WuFlu mandates years later. It conditioned the masses to being controlled for their own protection — without cause or need, to say nothing of constitutional basis.
Better “safe” than free.
And what happened to our vigilance? We knew 21 years ago what it meant to recognize and manage threats. How’s that workin’ out these days?
The current federal regime has flung wide The Golden Door. It funds terrorists around the world and looks the other way when they enter our country. It prints get-out-of-jail-free cards for murderous racists who set fire to city after city, all the while persecuting Patriots who represent the only hope of saving America.
Go ahead and blame government or Democrats or progressives or whatever makes you feel better. Then you have my permission to snap the fuck out of it and tell the truth.
We let this happen.
Rest assured that nothing tempers my fury at Islamists, those who took lives and those who cheered dead Americans. I will neither forget nor forgive, nor will I surrender to forces — foreign or domestic — seeking to destroy our way of life.
Many Americans say they feel that way. It’s easy. It’s convenient. It’s cathartic.
But that’s as far as it goes.
It relieves us of having to admit that our response to 9/11 — out of irrational fear, trading Liberty for the illusion of “safety” — harmed both a nation and its People.
Even as we waved the flag and chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!” we were becoming less American.
There’s no going back, either. That shameful “pandemic” performance of ours sealed the deal. The State has what it wants and won’t give it up without a fight.
America remains great and exceptional. Patriotism is never wrong. This country is still worth the pledging of our Lives, our Fortunes an our Sacred Honor.
And all that is true despite a Ruling Class and a Permanent State that exploit every crisis to amass power and control.
As we roll up on the 21st anniversary of 9/11, yes, we’ll revisit sadness that never abates completely. Righteous anger will rise, as it should and for all the right reasons.
But let’s not forget what else we lost.
Remember the sacrifice of every American in the GWOT, whether you agreed with it or not, and the unforgiveable dishonor displayed by the current regime when it fled Afghanistan last year.
Remember, too, the loss of precious Liberty here at home, as Americans hid under their beds and begged the State to protect them.
Remember that “those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
And remember that whatever we permit — whether it’s terrorism or totalitarianism — will continue.
One year ago today we claimed our “prize” — Glacier Park, Montana.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB