"If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? If you wrong us, shall we not avenge?"
Three years ago today.
Three Years and still the ghosts haunt us
Three years and the blood still cried out from the streets and the fields.
I can see the ghosts standing by in the streets with utter contempt in their eyes as the protesters and the liberal apologists walk by, holding their signs and shouting their chants as if 9/11 never happened.
Have we brought them justice? Have be availed ourselves righteously in this martial endeavor that we have been thrust until of someone else's accord? Have we done right in their eyes, avenging their deaths and bringing justice to those who would kill innocents? I wonder what legacy we are leaving behind. Will our children be left to pay the price of our inaction and our fear. I wonder if our grandchildren will live in fear because we lacked the fortitude and the courage to stand strong against the ebb and tide of naked cold aggression.
Three years ago our leaders exhorted us and begged us to remain strong and vigilant. Our leaders promised us justice. They promised that we would not live in fear but would meet the enemy head on and never relent. Our leaders promised us that our course was right, that our course was set and we would not waiver. This was in the shadow of heros who stood tall against terror. This was in the shadow of such courage in the face of certain death that I weep, just remembering it. I am sure that those firefighters, police officers, warriors and servants who have witnessed the loss of so many of our people, who have stood against enemy in those early days when it was darkest before dawn, know the cost of the preservation of our way of life. They, who have held the rifle and the dying brother, knowing the meaning of the word freedom. Have we done them right? Have we been righteous in their eyes?
But that was three years ago. And now we are faced with a fork in the road. One road leads to the security and preservation of our people, and the legacy that our children and future generations will not have to live in fear of attack. The other path leads down a dark trail of fear, glass houses and the inability to face the future with the courage and fortitude to stand true to the ideals that we have held long as our standard here in American. We are faced with a dillema. Have we so lost our stomach for the fight that we would sacrifice our liberties and way of life for the empty sense of security that appeasement and compromise bring?
Three years ago we promised ourselves that we would stay the course. We promised that we would not retreat. We would never surrender. We would ask for no quarter and we would give no quarter. We promised ourselves that we would never again see these murderers as simple criminals and would see this war for what it was: a war for survival. We promised that we would fight this as a war: we would find, close with and destroy the enemy wherever he may be found.
When we look back on this day, we must never forget.
Never forget the ghosts who wait for their justice.
Never forget the blood that still seeps through the cracks of the sidewalks in southern Manhatten.
Never forget the promises we made to them.
Never forget the vows we made to ourselves.
Never forget the young warrior who stands between us and the enemy and who will never break faith with us, even until death.
We cannot break faith with him either.
Three Years and still the ghosts haunt us
Three years and the blood still cried out from the streets and the fields.
I can see the ghosts standing by in the streets with utter contempt in their eyes as the protesters and the liberal apologists walk by, holding their signs and shouting their chants as if 9/11 never happened.
Have we brought them justice? Have be availed ourselves righteously in this martial endeavor that we have been thrust until of someone else's accord? Have we done right in their eyes, avenging their deaths and bringing justice to those who would kill innocents? I wonder what legacy we are leaving behind. Will our children be left to pay the price of our inaction and our fear. I wonder if our grandchildren will live in fear because we lacked the fortitude and the courage to stand strong against the ebb and tide of naked cold aggression.
Three years ago our leaders exhorted us and begged us to remain strong and vigilant. Our leaders promised us justice. They promised that we would not live in fear but would meet the enemy head on and never relent. Our leaders promised us that our course was right, that our course was set and we would not waiver. This was in the shadow of heros who stood tall against terror. This was in the shadow of such courage in the face of certain death that I weep, just remembering it. I am sure that those firefighters, police officers, warriors and servants who have witnessed the loss of so many of our people, who have stood against enemy in those early days when it was darkest before dawn, know the cost of the preservation of our way of life. They, who have held the rifle and the dying brother, knowing the meaning of the word freedom. Have we done them right? Have we been righteous in their eyes?
But that was three years ago. And now we are faced with a fork in the road. One road leads to the security and preservation of our people, and the legacy that our children and future generations will not have to live in fear of attack. The other path leads down a dark trail of fear, glass houses and the inability to face the future with the courage and fortitude to stand true to the ideals that we have held long as our standard here in American. We are faced with a dillema. Have we so lost our stomach for the fight that we would sacrifice our liberties and way of life for the empty sense of security that appeasement and compromise bring?
Three years ago we promised ourselves that we would stay the course. We promised that we would not retreat. We would never surrender. We would ask for no quarter and we would give no quarter. We promised ourselves that we would never again see these murderers as simple criminals and would see this war for what it was: a war for survival. We promised that we would fight this as a war: we would find, close with and destroy the enemy wherever he may be found.
When we look back on this day, we must never forget.
Never forget the ghosts who wait for their justice.
Never forget the blood that still seeps through the cracks of the sidewalks in southern Manhatten.
Never forget the promises we made to them.
Never forget the vows we made to ourselves.
Never forget the young warrior who stands between us and the enemy and who will never break faith with us, even until death.
We cannot break faith with him either.
posted by Jim at 9/11/2004 05:56:00 PM
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