GayPatriot

The Internet home for American gay conservatives.

Ten Years Is A Long Time

by

I can hardly believe that a decade has passed since I was two blocks from The White House and watching the TV in my office as a second plane hit the World Trade Center.

A lot of what drives me as an adult was born on that day. It is hard to believe that 2001 was so long ago. John and I had only met two years before. We enjoyed living in the DC suburbs before that day. None of our current canine companions had been born yet. The creation of the GayPatriot blog was highly influenced by the events of 9/11, but on that day I had no idea what blogs even were. My personal time being invested in politics no doubt increased and I am sure that my convictions about helping to start GOPROUD are rooted in 9/11/2001.

As long time readers know, I don’t talk much about my personal life — but I struggled for a long time to deal with the attacks on America in 2001. As I’ve mentioned before, not only was I in DC that day — but a very close friend was taken from me during the terrorist attacks. I found myself psychologically affected by that day for many years to come. Since 9/11, we moved west to Loudon County, VA…then south to Charlotte, NC ….and now to York, SC. I don’t regret any of those moves, but I can’t honestly say that I would be living where I’m living had 9/11 not happened.

I was thinking about the “9/11 kids” this weekend. It struck me that kids who were 10 & 11 on the day of the attacks are now 20 & 21. I have to believe that they have been profoundly affected by the last decade — perhaps in a way that will never alter that generation’s character.

I’m tired of war, I’m tired of fighting, and I’m just damned tired. But this nation’s founding was an aberration of human history — and I’ll be damned if some two-bit 7th Century ideologues will break my will and take the United States of America down.

Let’s Roll.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Comments

  1. this nation’s founding was an aberration of human history — and I’ll be damned if some two-bit 7th Century ideologues will break my will and take the United States of America down.

    I’m watching United 93 tonight. It’s intense! With no editorial comment, the movie shows everybody as people doing their jobs: the air traffic center, the flight crews, the passengers, and, in a way, the terrorists. The terrorists were a bunch of primitives who gave up their lives to strike a blow of destruction against a world they hadn’t made, and didn’t care to understand. Their evident dedication to their cause makes them the more evil, because they’d chosen an evil cause. Western civilization is an awesome achievement. Just to think about the technology, the training, the discipline and personal responsibility, the background of freedom – in short, the sheer morality – that goes into something as “everyday” as our air traffic system, puts my jaw on the floor.

  2. I’m sure you’ve already seen this, but I think it deserves another airing just for the sheer unabashed exultant savoring of victory it celebrates:

    Martin Short, “Bastard in the Sand”, sung to “Candle in the Wind”:

    http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2011/09/10/flashback-bastard-sand-parody-sung-martin-short-accompanied-singing-nav

    At the above link, there is most of the lyrics. If you listen carefully, Martin changes 3 lines of the 2nd refrain to something like:

    It seems to me you lived your life
    Like an asshole in the sand
    la la la la da da da la la la da I couldn’t hear the words
    You reached the lowest limits of the human race
    Could’ve shot you anywhere
    But why not in the face?
    We could’ve shot you anywhere
    but why not in the face?

    It’s helping me to sleep with some hope my dreams won’t be horrible… g’night all, God bless us, everyone.

  3. Sorry, one last thing: I’d like Barry to appease me for a change, and show me the picture of UBL’s dead face, since I and 300 million other Americans did pay for that proof with blood and treasure. Thatisall. G’night.

  4. I was 10 years old when I witnessed the second plane slam the South Tower. The image of the plane flying into the building, and the resulting fireball, has been permanently seared into the minds of every witness. At that young age I could not fully comprehend what was occurring, but from the fear in my teacher’s face I knew the nation was under attack.

    I witnessed nearly every event of the day on various television screens. Our teachers let us watch the television all day, and I was glued to the screen once I got home. In an odd way, I feel fortunate that I was able to witness the events of 9-11, considering many people my age were not able to watch it on live television. This same feeling extends to those who were not old enough to remember the day. In some way I feel those individuals will never have the same understanding of the attacks as those who witnessed the events at the same time they happened.

    I have many memories of a pre-9/11 world. When thinking about the attacks, I often think to an earlier time where I had no idea what terrorism actually was. I didn’t even know the word terrorism until that day. Yes, I vaguely remember the Oklahoma City bombing, but as I stated it is different to hear about an attack than to witness it.

    Half my life has played out in a post-9/11 world. In the years since the attacks I have come to understand what most adults felt that day. I have comprehended the sense of confusion caused by the attacks. I have heard of the fear, and the stories of heroism that triumphed over fear. Most importantly, I have realized how fragile freedom really is, but how determined our nation is to defend and preserve our freedom.

  5. VDH on the First Ten Years of a long, long war

    In truth, the first ten years of the war on terror in eerie fashion resemble the first decade of the Cold War, with all the familiar actors making a return. Then too the Henry Wallace/Adlai Stevenson liberal wing of the Democratic party insisted that we had overreacted to the fear of Communism, clumsily demonized our long-suffering WWII ally Russia, missed out in reaching out to a naturally receptive, but unfortunately alienated Mao’s new China, and in general had thrown away the good feeling and national unity following the end of World War II by committing Americans to a costly, endless, mindless and amorphous war against global Communism while fostering a witch hunt at home. To suggest that Chinese and Russian Communism had slaughtered millions of their own, and might easily do so again beyond their borders, was as blasphemous then as is now the warning about the innate evil of radical Islamism and the dangers of a 21st-century existential enemy that does not require conventional bombers, guided missiles, tanks, and huge armies to kill tens of thousands.

  7. “Lets Roll” Thumbs up 🙂

    Ironically there are some on the far left that still blame everything that happened on the United States. If we had let the jihadists get the upper hand these same individuals would look pretty funny kneeling on their prayer rugs prayint toward Mecca under penatly of having their heads removed from their shoulders if they do not.

  8. Spent the day watching clips from that awful day. The ones the media has kept hidden. Then went hiking in nature – realizing how amazing and resilient this country is.
    War and fighting are awful, but sometimes not fighting is even worse.