Honoring September 11th: Friend From Foe
by Gary GrahamIt wasn’t a ‘disaster.’ Hurricanes, tsunami’s, earthquakes and famines are disasters. It wasn’t a ‘tragedy.’ Accidental drownings, poisonings, SIDS, freak accidents….those are tragedies. This was an evil, premeditated attack. The worst, most deadly and devastating attack ever carried off against the United States. And on our own ground – smack in the middle of the greatest city in the world, New York City.
Nearly three thousand souls perished. Not combatants on a battlefield, but average everyday citizens like you and me, starting their days like any other, working to earn a living to feed their families. Along with them were hundreds of valiant firemen and policemen rushing in to the buildings to save lives.
The images of those New Yorkers the next few days wandering the streets around Ground Zero with pictures of their missing loved ones, hoping beyond hope that perhaps it was a simple bump on the head and temporary amnesia that kept them from phoning home to tell them they were okay… These thoughts suck the wind from my soul.
Like most Americans, I was profoundly moved and shaken that fateful morning; and I knew instantly that our lives as Americans were forever changed. The surreal unfolding of events took me from shock to horror…to fury. I remember calling the Marine recruiter the next morning and asking where I go to enlist. He asked a few questions, and then informed me I was too old by two years to join the military. ‘But I’m a wonderful hand with a rifle,’ I argued, ‘versed in everything from pistol to shotgun to rifle to machine gun. I’m your boy (okay I’m not quite a boy), but trust me, you guys want me on your front lines.’ The answer remained a polite but firm ‘No thank you, sir’. So I sat helplessly like so many millions of us — glued to the TV screen, hoping for some positive news, praying something good to come from this horror.
I remember that anger, that blind rage, that boiling fury I held deep in my bowels that day. But when John Nolte asked me to write something about 911…I couldn’t think of a thing to say. I, like so many Americans, had pretty much forgotten that awful day. Oh sure, I remembered the images, the newscasts, …the movie, ‘United 93,’…but I really had to struggle to remember what I was going through, what we as a nation were going through on September 11, 2001. And I know I’m not alone.
How can that be? How could we have let one singular event that reshaped an entire foreign policy, altered a national zeitgeist, and changed the very way we view the world…how could we have let that memory dim? Is our selective memory just a survival mechanism that chooses to dwell on the happy and pleasant and let the trauma and terrors of life fade into a merciful fog; like a flesh wound that hardens and clots, then forms a thick, crusty scab, only to fade eventually leaving scarcely a mark?
There are some, of course, who don’t want anyone to remember 9/11. The reasons they would obfuscate the meaning and redirect the focus of the attack are varied and insidious, and they are the topic of a different essay. Here I will simply take a few moments to register my reflections on the real meaning of 9/11.
We have been attacked, we suffered a grievous loss of humanity, and we are at war. Here, in America, we are under assault. We have vicious enemies abroad…and determined enemies here among us. People who want to destroy the America we cherish so dearly, and for whom so many brave souls have made the ultimate sacrifice.
They hate us because we’re rich. They hate us because we’re exceptional. And they hate us most of all…because we’re good. We’re by no means perfect, but more often than not, we do the right thing. We defend innocent life. We oppose tyranny. We offer aid and support to disaster victims. We give in vast abundance, more than any other nation has done since the dawn of time. But most importantly… we offer the world that ‘shining city on a hill’ image that President Regan so famously coined, to serve as the model to liberty-loving people worldwide…and a beacon to draw them nigh.
The Islamic fascists who hate us and wish us ill? They want us to suddenly alter our lifestyles, throw ourselves on our knees, pray to Allah and accept Sharia law. They want us to atone for our past ‘sins’ as a nation and pay penance for the ‘evils’ we have perpetrated upon the world. They want to change America.
As the events of 9/11 taught us…. Not all change is good change. There are many enemies to our great nation – from without and within. They hate America and want to re-fashion it into their concept of utopia.
God grant us the wisdom to tell friend from foe!
Do you hear the pounding of the drum yet? It’s your neighbors, your friends, the grocers, the trucker, the doctors, the businessmen, the students, the citizens of this great country…Americans like you – speaking out, by the tens of millions, shouting in a unified and deafening, resounding cry… This is our country! This is America, dammit!!
Stand up for what America is. And don’t let anyone sell you what America is not.
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170 Comments
Thank you, Mr. Graham. Great post.
As someone said on another blog post: This wasn't a tragedy, it was an atrocity.
Brilliant, Mr. Graham.
thank you!
[...] paragraph from Gary Graham’s Big Hollywood piece on remembering September 11 echoes the horror I felt eight years ago: The [...]
9/11 was an oddly personal day of grieving for me. My cousin had been killed the day before and I was already in a bit of shock when my husband woke me up the next morning to tell me to turn on the TV. Then I felt like the whole nation was grieving with me. I sat for days glued to the TV screen, first watching the tragedy unfold and then watching the horrible aftermath. I can't imagine how shell shocked New York must have felt.
9/11 feels like such a personal attack to me. We were terrorized for nothing more than being exceptional. So it's hugely offensive to me to see our President apologize for America and people like Charlie Sheen continue to put forth ridiculous truther conspiracy theories. It's stupid and disrespectful. Thank goodness there are people, like our Mr. Graham and the people who come here, who remember why we were attacked and why we continue to fight to preserve our way of life.
Thanks Gary. A+
United we stand – divided we fall
I like this one a lot
Outstanding Gary. Well said. Thanks for putting your reflections on paper
Amen, brother! America is exceptional and furthermore American Exceptionalism is specific, real, and is, ultimately, the light of the world. God rest the souls of the victims of 9/11. God Bless this Nation.
Ahh yes. The familiar call to purge "the enemy within".
"As the events of 9/11 taught us…. Not all change is good change. There are many enemies to our great nation – from without and within. They hate America and want to re-fashion it into their concept of utopia."
So what you are saying is: 9/11 is the fault of liberals – and they should be treated like the enemy for it. They are the enemy.
Great.
America is perfect. America can do no wrong. America above all else. America above all others.
America…uber alles.
His reflections would be better put into a daiper.
I remember most everything that day, eight years ago. I remember a call from the field supervisor asking some minor techincal question, and oh yeah a plane hit the WTC. I remember pulling out the TV we used for presentations that had no cable or antena and trying to watch the news. I remember using paper clips to try to get better recpetion. I remember calling my wife and saying, "You watching this shit." I remember trying to in touch with a brother. He was going out the country and I couldn't remember the date he said. Was he out of the country and could he get back, what's up. I remember not sleeping but maybe a total of four or five hours the next week, because I was couldn't stop watching the news. I remember driving a day later and a report came on the news that FEMA was requesting 10,000 body bags, and pulling over and crying for five minutes.
I remember most everything that day, eight years ago. I remember a call from the field supervisor asking some minor techincal question, and oh yeah a plane hit the WTC. I remember pulling out the TV we used for presentations that had no cable or antena and trying to watch the news. I remember using paper clips to try to get better recpetion. I remember calling my wife and saying, "You watching this shit." I remember trying to in touch with a brother. He was going out the country and I couldn't remember the date he said. Was he out of the country and could he get back, what's up. I remember not sleeping but maybe a total of four or five hours the next week, because I was couldn't stop watching the news. I remember driving a day later and a report came on the news that FEMA was requesting 10,000 body bags, and pulling over and crying for five minutes. cont
A nice post, Gary. There are many who would like nothing more than to get us to forget what actually happened on 9/11. May we, as a country, neither forget what happened nor ever slacken our efforts to prevent it from happening again. I am not interested in turning this day into national service day.
And I remember something else. I try to refrain from partsianship regarding 9/11, but when President Obama returned the bust of Sir Winston Churchill, I was livid. I remember our British brothers playing our American National Anthem during the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and the symbolism of solidarity with gift of the bust. FDR, a liberal, stood with Churchill, a conservative, when the common enemy was fascism. Then, Blair, a liberal, stood with Bush, a conservative, when the common enemy is Islamic terrorism. Maybe someone should have explained that to Obama.
Oh STFU already with your whiny foolishness. Jesus Christ, can't you just once let go of your fixation on picking a fight here??
Freakin childish….
See above…
I remember that one of my feelings that day was solidarity with my fellow Americans who were united in horror, grief and anger. All Americans. I wasn't worried about petty partisan differences.
Do you realize Mr. Graham that many of those who were murdered, you would now classify as "enemies within"?
This was liberal New York City afterall….
How ironic.
And pathetic.
I feel sorry for you and your kind. It must be a sad existence to be so consumed with fear and loathing…
If it quacks like a Duck, walks like a Duck, flys like a Duck, even if it is "pink" it's still a Duck.
He's not going to shut up, Hank. It's vitally important, especially on this day of all days, that we self-important and dangerous conservatives get the p!ss taken out of us at every opportunity.
American Exceptionalism, and those who exhort it, are picking the fight.
seriously- is this or isn't this what the author is bascially saying?
National Service is EVIL Jed!!!!!
Those who volunteered in the days after 9/11…those brave firemen and policemen who lost their lives in SERVICE to our country are/were obviously
SOCIALISTS!
So too apparently are all our military members…
How DARE they think they can carry out their communist scheme of national service RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR VERY EYES!
No, you pulled a Michael Moore and edited what he said to fit your argument.
C'mon man, just knock it off already, you're coming off like a complete tool. I happen to think that's not the case, but you're making it difficult….
"Maybe someone should have explained that to Obama."
Maybe they did and he did not care. That is a symbol I will never forget!
I wouldn't call it "consumed with fear and loathing…", I call it being vigilant so that America never forgets what happened and that it doesn't become a repeat offense. Seeing what Obama has turned the day into, it is important to keep in the forefront what happened 8 years ago as to fall asleep on the job only invites those who creep in the darkness to do it again.
yes. Thanks.
Thanks Gary, great post! Weakness invites evil to strike.
Childish
But you are already wearing that diaper, and it clearly needs to be changed!
You always displayed the perfect fascistic characteristics
You're still an idiot. Can't you crawl back under your rock and stay there for just one day?
yes I pulled a "Michael Moore" and employed a argumentative tactic. So sue me.
no I won't knock it off. I'm here to comment on what is posted.
lets do it one more time since its so much fun:
"As the events of 9/11 taught us…. Not all change is good change. There are many enemies to our great nation – from without and within. They hate America and want to re-fashion it into their concept of utopia."
TRUE OR FALSE BOYS AND GIRLS: is the author, or isn't the author, suggesting that liberals – e.g. those who supposedly embrace the concept of utopia, not only hate America, but they are aligned and a part of the enemy, e.g. those who attacked America on 9/11???
I'll grant you that I view the blog with hostility and defensively. How would you feel if you were accused of being part of those who attacked America on 9/11?
It seems to me that the author is suggesting that liberals like me, are part of America's enemy that attacked us. Or am I "overreacting"?
I'll give you credit: At least you have the balls to confront us on a 9/11 thread. The rest of our usual trolls are still beating up on Victoria Jackson a few pages behind us.
i am not consumed with fear and loathing. i am standing without fear in the face of tyranny. i am standing with a righteous anger prepared to defend this country against enemies foreign and domestic. their is a huge difference.
and no need to feel sorry for us. but you can thank us later. we have you covered.
Do you realize wimpy liberal that many of those who were murdered, you would now classify as "enemies of obama within the collective hive?"
This was liberal New York City afterall, even though most of the people who work in the finance industry are conservative- since they must apply logic and common sense to their daily activities…..
How ironic.
And pathetic.
I feel sorry for all libruls. It must be a sad existence to be so consumed with fear and loathing of citizens who just want to be left alone, and not have their families degraded as wards of the leviathan, all powerful state.
and put on your head!
"It must be a sad existence to be so consumed with fear and loathing".
agreed. I'd feel more sorry for them if they weren't such a drag on our nation.
"you would now classify as "enemies of obama within the collective hive?""
but its the author of this blog and those who agree with him that are CLASSIFYING liberals & Obama supporters as "The Enemy". That is the point of the article.
hey, "He started it" was the general jist of Bush's argument against Saddam, so I wouldn't disparage it if I were you.
I will rephrase it to make it sound less 3rd gradish. Maybe you can come back with another way to put this down.
If people go on to a public forum stating that America is above reproach, people like me – Americans in fact – will inevitably be there to put them back in their place.
Deal with it.
You deserve no thanks and you'll get no thanks from me.
You and your fellow lemmings supported Bush invading the wrong country in response.
You and your fellow lemmings cheered on while Bush took his eye off the ball in Afghanistan to pursue his cowboy misadventure in Iraq.
A misadventure that will cost us over a trillion $. That MY kids will have to pay for!
I thank our troops whose service is honorable and brave. It's not their fault the former CIC was a moron.
Why should I thank you? You sound like a typical armchair chickenhawk.
As for the domestic (imagined) threat.
Obama was democratically elected. You lost. Get over it.
He's our president.
"enemies of obama within the collective hive?"
???
Is that wing-nuttery goobledegook supposed to mean something?
Sorry! I'm not fluent in the language of tin-foil hat wearers. English Only!
Many in the finance industry are liberal (especially socially).
Many policmen are liberal.
Many firemen are liberal.
Many receptionists and food workers are liberal.
Perhaps we should do some research on voting records to determine which victims were conservative and which were liberal.
Hmmm?
We can honor the conservative victims each year and be thankful for the deaths of american enemies of the state that were accidental collatoral damage for the terrorists?
Hmmm?
As for you poor, poor widdle family being degraded by the evil all powerful leviathan…
In what respect?
Has your 1st amendment been threatened? Nope.
Second? Nope.
ANY rights been threatened?
Nope.
Your just a hysterical, shrieking reactionary.
What a drama queen!
There's a very big hole in Manhattan that begs to differ.
Isn't it great that President Obama took this opportunity to remember the importance of service on this anniversary?
How fitting.
I can't tell you how inspired I was to see so many good americans (not just the brave first responders) rise to the occassion in the days that followed that horrific event.
What a great idea to use the anniversary to remind us of this service.
Another class act Mr. President!
Ooops!
That's supposed to be "You're" just a hysterical, shrieking reactionary…
I just HATE that kind of typo!
Pardon Moi!
Beating up on Victoria Jackson?!!
Well that is rather cowardly!
Isn't she mentally retarded?
oh lordy, i think you just *pooped* yourself.
Proud Liberal, how many times do we have to tell you "quit with strengthening the stereotype of liberals". Left of the left lefties like you do your side much disservice.
The idea that America is above reproach does a disservice to our country and is nothing more than nationalism – not TRUE patriotism.
A true patriot loves America when she is right, and BECAUSE they love it, tries to right her when she's wrong.
Anything else is the equivalent of an overindulgent parent who refuses to recognize fault in their child.
That's bad parenting.
Just like these uber-nationalists are practicing bad citizenship.
Saying they hate us because we're "rich, exceptional, and good" is the only way one can frame an argument to completely ignore the negative consequences of our interventionist foreign policy of the past half a century. It's disingenuous.
The CIA coined the term "blowback" to describe EXACTLY what happened on 9/11. The horror of 9/11 was driven by a hatred by muslims of our foreign policy–not a hatred of our lifestyle. Bin Laden even said those very words when he released the videotape after the attack. He didn't say we were attacked because we all have plasma TVs and our women don't wear burkas. He said we were attacked because our government orchestrated a coup in Iran, imposed sanctions on Iraq that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children, and stationed troops in Saudi Arabia.
None of this excuses the actions of the terrorists in any way; it merely illustrates the true motive behind the attack. And without understanding the mentality of the enemy, we'll never have peace. We'll be in a constant state of war, something which serves not to keep us "safe," but to dramatically empower the government.
such as making an accusation with no back up? AHEM!
How so?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Big Hollywood and Lea Ann Patton. Big Hollywood said: Honoring September 11th: Friend From Foe http://bit.ly/Z4yLM [...]
gb8898
You are trying to use reason, facts, and the historical record to make your argument?
Here??????
That, more than anything, makes you the 'enemy' in these parts!
That's like trying to have a rational discussion on child development with a two year old in the midst of a temper tantrum.
The first time I went to the UK, I had a tour of Westminster Abbey. Our guide was British, and our group was all American. When he stopped and showed us the memorial to the American WWII soldiers they still have, in a prominent spot within the Abbey, and explained how it was one of their highest honors, there wasn't a single one of who wasn't in tears, including our guide.
That was less than a year after 9-11, and that feeling of solidarity and camaraderie we all felt everywhere we went couldn't have been stronger. There was just this outpouring of love and friendship on all sides. I've been back several times since, and the feelings are so different now. Now, we get verbally attacked more times than not. It makes me sad.
They're not angry at you because they find your arguments convincing and unanswerable (which, by the way, they're not), it's that they find your persistence annoying.
Okay, Cog-I'll play. Yep, I believe that Gary IS saying that much of the liberal agenda is anathema to what America has been, what has made it exceptional. I think he correctly points out this country's place in history, and is right to imply that if certain people get their way, our exceptionalism will fade into a global homogeneity, and the "Shining City on a Hill" will vanish.
What he is NOT saying is that liberals were responsible for 9/11. He's using the experience to remind us that while we know there are those from outside the country that did us harm (THEY were responsible for what happened that day), there are also those within that would very much like to mold the country into something it was never intended to be-average (because then no one will hate us.)
Even taking that statement out of context, you would be hard-pressed to read it as the accusation you're painting it to be, unless you came here looking for a fight. Today of all days, I think most of us would rather not.
Best.
Even taking that statement out of context, you would be hard-pressed to read it as the accusation you're painting it to be, unless you came here looking for a fight. Today of all days, I think most of us would rather not.
You simply don't understand liberals, do you? Today of all days, it's vitally necessary that there be a fight — we self-deluding, bigoted conservatives must be taken down a peg.
"mmm, we'll stay with Al Franken, thanks."
Well, how can one top a self-insult like that?
Dennis Miller's navel lint is funnier than Senator Smalley.
And what of the abusive parents who refuse to recognize their child's strengths and condemn him or her as a worthless, selfish, stupid little brat who'll never amount to anything unless they beat some sense into him?
My God, what a moron, what a purblind morally-bankrupt relativistic retard you are!
We're supposed to mark this sacred anniversary with "community organizing"??? Classy? It's tacky; no, it's obscene.
It's 9/11, craven liberal. Have you punched a Muslim today?
You idiot. We took nothing "off the ball" in Afghanistan. Iraq drew thousands of jihadi scum from their mountain wilderness in AfPak to the flat desert of Iraq- where we killed them in job-lots. Oh, and we liberated 26 million people from the foulest tyrant in the world, too.
Hey, why don't you bitch about FDR after Pearl Harbor invading Morocco?
And the cost of the entire Iraq war (650 billion) was less than ObamaPelosiReid spent in One Day with their moronic Porkulus.
I'll happily spend a trillion dollars to kill jihadis- and not a penny for worthless liberal crap.
That's okay. We're in no need of pity.
What about my right to keep the fruits of my labor and not have it confiscated?
The National "Service" the Messiah is preaching is of the ACORN sort. You know, serve the people by liberating wealth from its owners.
These people love being afraid — afraid and angry. Apparently it's all they have, a desperate desire to feel themselves victims of some grand conspiracy. They hallucinate enemies everywhere, inflate something like ACORN into a huge cabal trying to destroy them and take away their guns, and insist that only they are worthy of having a voice in this country. They allow their leaders to torture, to kill, and to imprison people forever with no trial because they're so scared of terrorists, but as soon as their party isout of power they're terrified that if they allow the dark-skinned leader to pass health reform they'll be in concentration camps. They love that fear because it makes them feel important. When in fact they are small, pathetic, miserable people. Sad indeed.
Now that's patriotism. You're happy to show how much you love your country by making vague threats, but if you're asked to do actually put out a little money to help pay for the roads, or the military you claim to love so much, oh, no, that's communism.
You can talk as big as you want, you can carry all the guns you can lift, but your patriotism is defined by what you're willing to give up for it. And you can't even stand to pay your fair share of taxes.
Ah, a useful idiot in action. Too bad the good people of this country have to suffer thanks to fools like you. Sad. Just sad.
Oh right!
I forgot.
He's also using special mind control hypnosis to indocrinate our children into terrorist/muslim/homosexual/marxist/black nationalist drones.
I heard somewhere that he isn't even an american citizen!!!!!!
Does your tin-foil hat ever give you a headache?
Just curious.
oh yeah, forgot about that narcissistic dbag. he used to be funny.
ouch. I'm sorry that happened Jake. At least you grew up to be someone who could make a very valuable contribution to society by commenting here on Breit bart.
Well, you've certainly done no more for society than I have.
It's not rubbish at all. Madeline Albright (I call her All-Dim) went on national television, on "60 Minutes," and admitted that the sanctions were leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children. She said it was "worth it."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbIX1CP9qr4
Do you honestly think her words WEREN'T heard around the world by muslims?
And I'm not suggesting that we curtail our foreign policy to appease others. I'm merely pointing out that our actions will inevitably have consequences. We can't simply say "They hate us because we're free and rich" and think that's the truth. There's a lot more we choose to ignore simply because folks on the Left and Right love the government sticking its nose into every corner of the globe.
Here's what George W. Bush said when he was running for president against Gore: "I'm not so sure the role of the United States is to go around the world and say this is the way it's got to be. We can help. And maybe it's just our difference in government, the way we view government. I mean I want to empower people. I want to help people help themselves, not have government tell people what to do. I just don't think it's the role of the United States to walk into a country and say, we do it this way, so should you."
The government can't effectively run the postal service or VA hospitals. It also can't manage the rest of the world.
It's not rubbish at all. Madeline Albright (I call her All-Dim) went on national television, on "60 Minutes," and admitted that the sanctions were leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children. She said it was "worth it."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbIX1CP9qr4
Do you honestly think her words WEREN'T heard around the world by muslims?
And I'm not suggesting that we curtail our foreign policy to appease others. I'm merely pointing out that our actions will inevitably have consequences. We can't simply say "They hate us because we're free and rich" and think that's the truth. There's a lot more we choose to ignore simply because folks on the Left and Right love the government sticking its nose into every corner of the globe.
Here's what George W. Bush said when he was running for president against Gore: "I'm not so sure the role of the United States is to go around the world and say this is the way it's got to be. We can help. And maybe it's just our difference in government, the way we view government. I mean I want to empower people. I want to help people help themselves, not have government tell people what to do. I just don't think it's the role of the United States to walk into a country and say, we do it this way, so should you."
The government can't effectively run the postal service or VA hospitals. It also can't manage the rest of the world.
Oh, please, don't try the tired, lame old cops-and-highways spiel. You know as well as I do that only a small fraction of the Federal budget goes to things that benefit the citizenry- the rest is simply pork, payoffs, vote-buying and worthless crap.
Actually, wr1, we're quite pleased that you and your fellow libs continue to believe your reality-distortion bubble. Keep right on thinking that way, right through 2012….
You got nothin' but hate and theft. That's all the Left is.
Didn't you hear? Public service is for Nazis.
I'm strictly here for personal profit and self interest.
"As the events of 9/11 taught us…. Not all change is good change. There are many enemies to our great nation – from without and within. They hate America and want to re-fashion it into their concept of utopia.
God grant us the wisdom to tell friend from foe! "
Okay – so I've cut and pasted the choice bit that I take umbrage at. I suppose that means I've "taken it out of context." I don't think the context I took this from changes the meaning. If you disagree, please explain how the context DOES change anything!
This Gary Graham guy thinks he's clever! He refers to "change". Am I "reading in to it" too much to "interpret" that as a reference to Obama? Sorry, its seems pretty obvious.
Likewise, I hear all the time here on Brei bart how us liberals are so guilty of trying to attain utopia. (Where'd you get that from anyway- Glen Beck I bet!)
anyway, its perfectly clear what this dickhead Graham is saying. Don't be a dick yourself and try to apologize for him.
You simply don't understand liberals, do you? Today of all days, it's vitally necessary to them that there be a fight — we self-deluding, jingoistic, pompous, bigoted, DANGEROUS conservatives must be taken down a peg.
more than that, but what you've got here is a good start!
It's a conclusion for the other readers to draw their own conclusions from.
Let's see, you hate the very things that make this country great.
You deride anyone that struggles to do their best (as this piece pointed to, as our strong point)
There seems to be anger and bitterness towards anyone who finds good character appealing and you waste very little time in belittling anyone other than those behind you. (not a nice place to be probably).
I know what conclusion I reached, even before I read his comment.
You may have read this article, but you don't know what it means. You don't think like the author, and probably don't have the intelligence to try reading what he meant instead of what the words would mean if you used them.
Unless you want to blow us onto our knees and force us into obeying Sharia law, it wasn't about liberals, exactly. Unless you consider yourselves as seeking our destruction. I'll let you make that call.
So, do you consider people that struggle to do their best a threat?
Why is that? Does it make liberals look bad for some reason?
I wonder if he was planning his famous bow to the Saudi Monarch as that bust went out the door to his office?
Don't you realize that you are probably one of the first ones the brave jihadists want to kill?
And the only thing between them, and their knives is our brave and hated military?
Why would you want to destroy the very system that keeps you alive? Ask the New York Times reporter just freed in Afganistan if your liberal sophistication will protect you?
You know it would take a leftwing twit to have to bring politics into this. Dude where were you on 9-11. I want an honest answer. And how dare you politicize this post with your wild ravings over Glenn Beck, who as far as I could see was not mentioned. If you are obsessed with Beck maybe you should bring that up to him? Its 9-11..let those of us who understand it and get it alone. Your lunacy is not needed or wanted.
Gary excellent. It made me cry. Dang why is this day so hard?
I find it interesting that you have to say anything. Apparently 9-11 means nothing to you?
Our first amendment was threatened, and weakened by McCain Feingold.
Our second amendment has been weakened, just recently by the news covering Obama's side stop to Arizona where guns were worn.
There was a hysterical shrieking reactionary, and it not the activists that want to live free. It was the liberal MSM that wanted to make them look like monsters. I wonder if the last viewers were even paying attention. I know the conservative side was wide awake, we don't forget. That's the point of this piece. We know the importance of remembering.
Please, tell us what it's like to live with so much fear and loathing, you're the only one here that seems to be full of either…
I have no solidarity with you leftist. Its amazing how you assume even people on your so called side would agree with you. I'd love to see you walk into a Manhattan Fire House and start this tripe with a bunch of guys who actually had to experience 9-11. Or a few men in the military. Or the familys. You do realize that the majority of the nation lives a center right life style? Look at the polls once and get a dose of reality.
Maybe you can help me. I have a girlfriend who turns tricks, how can I lie on my home loan application?
Seems Acorn is good for something after all!
Yes, I know we evil americans have done so much harm to the world. Just look at Jimmy Carter allowing the Ayatollah to seize power in Iran. So many dead and living in fear thanks to that one debacle. Or Johnson sending all those boys to Vietnam to die. Yes, we've made mistakes, but how do you lay them at the conservative's feet? Reagan brought the iron curtain down.
Re-writing history doesn't change it. Not while we remember. Is that why you and the other liberals are so angry? We won't let the facts go?
And you aren't?
Whose personal platform should it be? Those that want to never forget, or those that are ashamed and blame us for the murderers that committed it?
Go to heil CD…………..you unripe piece of tripe
You guys do know that if you ignore it, it will go away, right?
Please also remember those who perished in the attack on the Pentagon, on that same day, and the brave co-workers and rescue workers who saved as many as they could.
He's YOUR president – you're the moron he voted for. My future children and grandchildren will be paying for YOUR president's lunatic schemes, including his ridiculous health care reform, and that will be a LOT more money than the war costs. So you can kiss my ass.
You will get absolutely no respect from me. I'm not afraid to tell you that you are indeed the enemy and truly no better than the scum that attacked us eight years ago.
I mean you're the moron who voted for him.
Shouldn't post when so upset. And you shouldn't post when being stupid, which means you shouldn't post…ever.
I'm going to be truly evil and say that this world would have been a better place if both you and Cog and all the other idiot liberals had died that day. If all the anti-American people died that day instead of the people who did die, this world would be a little bit better.
I truly hate you liberals with every single fiber of my being.
September 11, 2001 – I was home battling bronchitis. I had CNN on when they showed the first plane crashing into the tower. I wondered what movie they were advertising, never believed at that moment it was real. The shock when I finally realized that it was real was almost unbearable. The thought of all those people trapped and dying, the families left behind, the brave firefighters and police that risked their lives to help others became very painful. I couldn't fanthom who could do this to so many innocent people. Then to hear on the local TV stations that they were looking for people to volunteer their homes, couches, etc., for those grounded in Canada (I live in Vancouver, BC), reminded me of how important neighbors (whether next door, next block, next town, etc) are at times like these.
To my American friends, my condolences for your loss (even at this time, it has hard for me to adequately express myself with the horrors and murders that took place) and may we all never forget, ever what happened that day. For if you forget history, you are destined to repeat it.
Thanks Gary. That was a wonderful post. I'm not doing politics today, only remembering those who were murdered. Again, thank you.
Thanks for proving my point. The "He started it" works in 3rd grade dude….
And as far as American Exceptionalism goes, you have a lot to learn about your own country….
i am not consumed with fear and loathing. i am standing without fear in the face of tyranny. i am standing with a righteous anger prepared to defend this country against enemies foreign and domestic. there is a huge difference.
and no need to feel sorry for us. but you can thank us later. we have you, and your kind, covered.
I'm not here every day. I take days off. And I wouldn't expect to see you pleading with me to go away if I were really that ineffectual.
You make me absolutely sick.
You make me absolutely sick, Mr. "Proud" Liberal. Shoo, fly, back to your dung heap.
I think she just played one on TV.
I did like her back then I admit! That bit where she pronounced the name of every Latin American country with excessively zealous accuracy? Classic.
You conservatives can have her tho. as far as SNL alum gone political, mmm, we'll stay with Al Franken, thanks.
Saying they hate us because we're "rich, exceptional, and good" is the only way one can frame an argument so as to completely ignore the negative consequences of our interventionist foreign policy of the past half a century. It's disingenuous.
The CIA coined the term "blowback" to describe EXACTLY what happened on 9/11. The horror of 9/11 was driven by a hatred by muslims of our foreign policy–not a hatred of our lifestyle. Bin Laden even said those very words when he released the videotape after the attack. He didn't say we were attacked because we all have huge TVs and our women don't wear burkas. He said we were attacked because our government orchestrated a coup in Iran, imposed sanctions on Iraq that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children, and stationed troops in Saudi Arabia.
None of this excuses the actions of the terrorists in any way; it merely illustrates the true motive behind the attack. And without understanding the mentality of the enemy, we'll never have peace. We'll be in a constant state of war, something which serves not to keep us "safe" but to dramatically empower the government.
Label me as an "enemy within" for calling attention to uncomfortable facts if you want. Just know that I'm probably already on Obama's list, too.
Even taking that statement out of context, you would be hard-pressed to read it as the accusation you're painting it to be, unless you came here looking for a fight. Today of all days, I think most of us would rather not.
You simply don't understand liberals, do you? Today of all days, it's vitally necessary to them that there be a fight — we self-deluding, jingoistic, pompous, bigoted, DANGEROUS conservatives must be taken down a peg.
"imposed sanctions on Iraq that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children"
Rubbish. Saddamist propaganda picked up and amplified by the anti-American Left.
The sanctions placed no restrictionas on food, or medicine, at all. Throughout the sanctions regime Iraq imported ample food to feed its population.
Problem is, Saddam stole it all. He hoarded it and doled it out to his Republican Guard and Ba'athist cronies, and his clan around Tikrit- and deliberately let the rest of the country starve for the cameras so he could say how "evil" America was. Much of the medicine he resold for cash on the international black market.
And then there was the Oil-For-Food program. Remember that?
———————
I refuse to accept your premise that American foreign policy is subject to the veto of whatever murderous caveman might feel offended by it. We had troops in Saudi at their invitation, and it's irrelevant that a religious psychopath thinks.
Why are you taking this so personally? Gary isn't saying that liberals caused 9/11, or even that they're anywhere near the level of terrorists. Liberals just have bad ideas. Terrorists are the scum of the earth. Big difference.
However, I think Gary was drawing a comparison between what would happen to America if terrorists get their way and what would happen if far-out leftists (like Obama, perhaps, and others who dislike the idea of America being the best country on Earth). Joe from Idaho put it very well: "Yep, I believe that Gary IS saying that much of the liberal agenda is anathema to what America has been, what has made it exceptional. I think he correctly points out this country's place in history, and is right to imply that if certain people get their way, our exceptionalism will fade into a global homogeneity, and the "Shining City on a Hill" will vanish."
Just because the terrorist utopia is a far cry from a leftist utopia doesn't mean that they can't ultimately produce similar outcomes. Please consider the following:
Scenario A: The terrorists win. The world sucks.
Scenario B: The leftists turn us into something resembling a communist "paradise" (i.e. a society poorly micromanaged by a few in power, mass suffering and death, etc.) . Our country starts to suck. Terrorists take advantage of our weakness and win. The world sucks.
In conclusion, Gary was not saying that liberals caused 9/11 or that liberals are the same as terrorists. He was saying that terrorists and some people (I wouldn't say liberals, and I wouldn't assume you fall into the group of extreme leftists Gary was referencing) are alike in that they oppose America being awesome.
You're another liberal douche that doesn't give a rat's ass about this country. The only thing you care about is your next orgasm and how to get high. Please STFU and overdose.
I wonder if he was planning his famous bow to the Saudi Monarch as that bust went out the door of his office?
Sad day for me too. Watched a time-line retrospective on the horrible event with the family. It rips me up that so many want to forget the outrage and trade it for some sort of national sevice. Wimps.
And don't fret the stupid and predictable twaddle from the Left. They have more derangements than we have doctors to name them. We were attacked by evil people. Lefties couldn't find real evil with both hands if it was locked onto their nuts.
Ahh — screw the high road… Next time any of you hear that sort of America-hating crap, haul off and smack the douchebag in the mouth. It won't cure his mental disorder….but you'll feel so much better.
CD
Go to the nether regions where your heart and mind already reside.
Gary, I love you my brother. God Bless you.
Unity. You know who has really great, peachy keen "Unity?" DICTATORS.
Oh look. Projection.
On this day, CD commemorates the loss by slaughtering as many strawmen as he can.
Poor, poor strawmen.
No, it's more of an abusive spouse excuse. He'll try to cover up by pretending to be nice and then go off on one of these rants and say we made him do it.
…and don't forget, when people point it out to him it's THEIR fault. They MADE him a lying, dissembling douchebag.
A much better analogy. I guess it's all part of the left's inability to accept responsibility for anything.
Just bristling with self-importance, huh?
Thank God you're here to make sure the evil conservatives don't love their country too much, what would the world do without you???
And when Bush used the He Started It, it was actually true. Not the case with your antics….you probably wake up whining….
WAAAAHH!! WAAAAHH!!
It's equally bad parenting when a parent tries to make their child into something it's not. It's like how liberals want America to be a socialist country, like trying to make your son wear a dress, it's flat out wrong.
Yeah like when you did that on the Tapson thread earlier…..
I guess that's a part of the whole inability to accept responsibility for anything that liberals suffer from. I love how no one said America doesn't make mistakes, but CD feels it's his job to "knock us down a few pegs" anyway.
Very childish
Yeah Bill Maher did tell a joke once…..
There's that self-importance again….
Humility isn't really your thing, is it? Also, it's really a little classless to bash America on 9/11, don't you think? Your childish behavior could've waited a day….
Maybe you should ask Charlie Sheen and Van Jones about tin foil hat expertise…..
You can feed your own kid Obama's socialist nonsense, but I choose not to. Remember that thing? Choice?
She'd still be smarter than you…
what a total asshat
Let me get this straight, a writer for Time magazine, a magazine that's had Obama on their cover a bazillion times trashed Glenn Beck……WOW…..There's a ringing endorsement!!
It's a shame that our president feels the need to remake 9/11 into a day devoted to raking your neighbor's lawn or signing up illegal aliens as voters. Everything must be about him and his drive to remake America into a statist utopia. Just once I would enjoy seeing him step back and let someone else have center stage. Very good post, Gary.
HI Cog. I apologize for taking so long to reply. I was on my commute home shortly after the last post.
Ok to your point. No, American exceptionalism did not pick the fight. Those innocents murdered 8 years ago weren't jumping around with glee and celebrating in the streets with new of the deaths of anyone in the middle east. Those people were just going about their everyday business as were anyone else in the world. And those people were not just those who think the way many of us do here at this site. They were of all walks of life, liberals, conservatives, moderates, any number of ethnic backgrounds and religions. And many weren't even Americans, yet they died just as horribly and without warning as we "American exceptionalists".
Truth is, this war has been going on since the 70's, only we were refusing to believe it.
"You don't think like the author".
Thank God. Thank God that not too many people do. Otherwise the whole world would be a smoking peice of rubble by now.
"it wasn't about liberals, exactly. Unless you consider yourselfs as seeking our destruction"
No it wasn't about liberals "exactly". It wasn't about anything too exactly. The author is engaging in vague threats and initimidation. He is practicing the old wink and nod.
But we all know and understand who you and the author really mean.
Its kinda like when Bush said: "You are either with us or against us."
When he said "us", was he talking about America? Or was he talking about… conservatives? perhaps… the righteous Christian part of America, that positively seeks to wage a crusade against ALL of America's "enemies". And back to the point of this article… note that some of America's "enemies" are those INSIDE America.
So if I am AGAINST BUSH? If I am AGAINST waging endless war? If I am AGAINST waging war against people who peacefully worship some religion?
…then does that make me your enemy?
Go to hell, you delusional troll. You're not welcome here.
"people that struggle to do their best a threat"? It all depends on what they are doing.
If they are struggling to do their best at making bombs to throw at me- yes.
If they are struggling to do their best at making a living and providing for their families? no.
I think we'd agree on both of those statements. what either of those things has to do with "liberal" or "conservative"… well, that's up for debate.
"Gary was not saying that liberals caused 9/11 or that liberals are the same as terrorists."
He is not explicitly saying that. But he is vaguely hinting exactly that. And its disgusting. And anyone who tells me that I'm being self centered to interpret it this way can k*ss my a$$.
Hypothetically, what if I told you: "You fly-over-red-state types have no business saying anything about 9/11 . That was NYC, a liberal town that generally hates your views on this stuff anyway, so STFU."?
I'd be pretty out of line right (for several reasons). But among those reasons is the important theme of 9/11 sentiments- WE ARE ALL AMERICANS.
We can and always will disagree about a range of things.
But if you or this author start some thread of thinking that liberals are part of the enemy we face from 9/11? I don't care if it is just me as a troll or whatever. its YOU that can STFU, as far I am concerned.
Lola- I don't want or need your luncy either. But somehow I'm subjected to it anyway. So at least I can take heart that I've returned the favor.
I understand this alcoholic drug addicts like Beck and Limbaugh are popular with you people. So that's why I like to bring them up. Further, if you read the comment that I left, you can see its topical. Beck got going with is 9/12 thing, and we see how that's been going.
And Gary here is being very political, and so are you.
Should it be anyone's personal platform?
I don't see anyone being "ashamed" of 9/11. What I see is people on the right accusing those on the left of such nonsense, but I don't see that.
What I see is people that have enough of a brain to know that there is more to our relationship with the terrorists than simpleton Bush's assertion "they hate us because we represent freedom" or whatever exactly he said.
I see people on the left that want to engage and study the subject of how our government and big business deal with the power structures – the non-democratic regimes – of these countries that this anti-Americanism festers in.
And I see people on the right that want to say: "America can do no wrong. America is perfect. You have something to say that doesn't line up 100% with that decree? Well then you must hate us!"
Should it be anyone's personal platform? It seems to me that this is all a public forum.
I don't see anyone being "ashamed" of 9/11. What I see is people on the right accusing those on the left of such nonsense, but I don't see that.
What I see is people that have enough of a brain to know that there is more to our relationship with the terrorists than simpleton Bush's assertion "they hate us because we represent freedom" or whatever exactly he said.
I see people on the left that want to engage and study the subject of how our government and big business deal with the power structures – the non-democratic regimes – of these countries that this anti-Americanism festers in.
And I see people on the right that want to say: "America can do no wrong. America is perfect. You have something to say that doesn't line up 100% with that decree? Well then you must hate us!"
Well I'm surprized too. I thought Time was a bit on the conservative side, but if they have people there willing to criticize a latter-day Hitler-type like Glenn Beck…well, good for Time. They're stock is ticking up a bit.
"He is not explicitly saying that. But he is vaguely hinting exactly that."
Well, I didn't get a "liberals are evil!" vibe from his article. If you want to believe it's there, fine, but I don't think Gary thinks liberals are "the enemy." I think he thinks nutty leftists (not anywhere near all liberals, just some of the way far out ones like Obama and his czars) are bad for the country (as are terrorists, but in vastly different ways and to extremely different degrees).
Conservatives as a whole are no more dangerous than liberals as a whole. Both sides have extremists, but they don't make up the entirety of the group they identify with. And if you're going to get upset about a perceived swipe at liberals, please don't take jabs at conservatives in response. That doesn't get us anywhere. You were right when you emphasized that we are all Americans. Let's go with that.
You're welcome to think in any twisted way you want. But when you comment on something and can't undestand the author it's not posible to make intelligent comments.
And there was more control in Iraq and Afganistan during Bush's last year then we have now. That must cause you intestinal upset, doesn't it?
If you make your replies long and rambling enough, it's easy to confuse people isn't it? Then you don't have to worry about them challenging you on things they can't figure out.
This comment of yours is perfect execution on that policy. But you're still wrong. When Bush said "Either you are for us, or against us." It was a simple fact, clearly drawn and perfectly illustrated. But he wasn't speaking for or against conservative/liberal ideologies. He was speaking as our president, "Us' refered to Americans in general. He defended both sides of the isle when he kept our country gaurded and safe.
So, you're wrong. Not just wrong, but completely wrong from the angle you approach this from. So, how does it feel to look like such a fool?
Do your quacks echo? A ducks won't.
Then you need to vent your anger, bitterness and anxieties at the real enemy, those that are actually strapping bombs onto themselves to kill us. And it's not conservatives.
Aiming all that at the wrong target must be frustrating.
He probably just was looking for something to throw at the other side of the isle and this was the best piece he could come up with. It didn't fit with what he wanted to say. And he had to twist a lot in order to spew but given what the author left him to work with, it was the best he could do.
You hit that one right on the head.
Speaking of lunacy, where were you on the last full moon?
Not all people offended by the 9/11 attack are conservatives! They are just americans plain and simple. Is that beyond you?
If you could only travel to see how the other places in the world live, then you might actually appreciate the standard of living we have built here. And you might be slower to attack it.
Hitler is not Glenn Beck kind of guy, or the other way around.
Instead of just throwing insults why not make intelligent insults.
Like, (oh this is too easy) Barak said if we had the stimulus unemployement would top out at 8%, and it's now at 9.7, so he's a liar. We can't trust Barak since he supported the bank bailout and Fannie Mae is still loosing money after all that infusion and still needs more. For me to call this probable foreigner a liar makes sense with the two examples I used.
When you spew on Glenn Beck you give no examples and make no sense.
Care to fix that? If you can't then why not go suck some medication. You sound like you're running short on something.
Hitler is not Glenn Beck kind of guy, or the other way around.
Instead of just throwing insults why not make intelligent insults.
Like, (oh this is too easy) Barak said if we had the stimulus unemployement would top out at 8%, and it's now at 9.7, so he's a liar. We can't trust Barak since he supported the bank bailout and Fannie Mae is still loosing money after all that infusion and still needs more. For me to call this Chicago thug a liar makes sense with the two examples I used.
When you spew on Glenn Beck you give no examples and make no sense.
Care to fix that? If you can't then why not go suck some medication. You sound like you're running short on something.
I always wondered what a seizure would look like if someone was typing!
3,000 casualties, civilian casualties.
And you suggest we just look the other way and pretend nothing happened?
Why don't you go visit a cave and apologize to the muslims face to face while eating a bacon sandwich?
Yes. And if we loose we die. If they loose, they just go into hiding and wait until it's safe for them to come back out again.
We can never forget, or turn out back, not after 9/11.
And you realize how they completely detest everything you hold dear. How they let everything you have struggled to make for yourself a buzz word and insult it with no caring about the effort it took.
Then they have the effrontery to call us backwards? And after misreading a brilliant piece of work like this?
After you've eaten out of it? No thanks.
Besides, other liberal folk out there will want their share. You better save that pile or your friends would go to bed hungry tonight.
You can keep saying that over and over. But those that read the actual piece will know you are wrong.
But, that won't stop you. Go ahead and get started, I hope you finish soon quickly. Some serious dialogue would be here if you finish in time for the big boys to have grown up talk.
This coming at the same time the medicare funds are running out. Who looted that? Social Security is in a jam, who looted that? Who took the big spending of Bush and blew by that like it was nothing?
If the money was going to cops, roads and firemen we would pay it with pride. But no one likes being taken for a fool. Why you condone this confuses me. Do you work for Acorn, or just the DNC?
Amen! Kind of like that last mosquito that keeps buzzing around you in the dark. You can't find it, and just knowing it's out there watching and waiting makes you feel less secure.
It's called a straw man argument and CgntvDssdnt uses it often.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawman_fallacy
Twist and spin. I said ashamed, but not ashamed of 9/11. Is your reading skill level still not up to snuff? I wonder what mosque you worship at. If we are ashamed, it's not of the attack. You really don't understand the american thought patterns at all. Where are you from, and what belief system do you hold to?
Those on the left are ashamed of their country, and blame us for what the murderers did on that day. How you couldn't see that makes me wonder about your lunar cycle even more than before. If you couldn't understand my simple sentence than you really aren't going to fit in with this forum where at least a 3rd grade education is expected.
Did a republican walk on your photo with his shoes on or something?
He didn't vaguely say that. He didn't say that at all.
You suffer from paranoid delusions. Even though you know he didn't say it, you read into it and implant your fears and delusions into what you want him to say so that you have an excuse to draw offense.
What a sad life you must live. Probably a subsidized apartment all alone with your cat, and wait weeks on end for your social worker to visit and bring you supplies.
Great article, Mr. Graham. May the Holy Spirit give you strength of wisdom and the grace to continue the fight against ANYBODY that seeks to turn this nation from a Republic into an Oligarchy.
Jeez, way to confuse a myiad of points dark wolf. I will humor you and try to peice out an appropriately itemized response. By suggesting that "American Exceptionalists" are "picking a fight" I'm saying that they are starting an argument with ME. That is a different fight from the war (as opposed to a disagreement) that the US is having against terror, terrorists, islamists, brotherhood of muslims, brotherhood of islamic terrorists, etc. Now that I see how you were reading my other post, your post makes sense.
as far as the rest of your point goes, I generally agree. but since the 70s? Look, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU FRAME IT, and who "we" is… one can argue that this war has going on since the 70s, or since the 700s!
Why do you hate the church?
Why do you make fun of Christians?
Are you Asian?
Beautifully said. No more needs to be said. I'm with you on this one, 100 %!
Take care.
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