Do you remember the days following 9.11.2001?
Days filled with sadness and confusion were followed by days filled with patriotism and love of country. We came together as Americans to mourn our dead, to despise our enemies and to lift up our country and defend its freedoms. What has happened to America since then?
We are all now subjected to the sometimes overzealous scrutiny of the TSA when we travel; we are criticized for being ‘Islamophobic’ if we express fear of Muslims, who aren’t trying to hide the fact that they want to kill Christians and Jews; we are called “racist” if we object to Muslims trying to impose their beliefs upon our culture; we are encouraged to embrace diversity even when it poses a threat to our well-being; we are ridiculed if we express patriotism, gratitude to our military and law enforcement; and we are now expected to accept the dishonoring of our flag, the symbol of our liberty, as “freedom of speech” and civil protest.
What will it take to restore the patriotism that has energized this country over the past 250 years? The patriotism that fueled us to fight international battles against tyranny is fading. It is being drowned out by the voices and actions of those who want to destroy America, who want to “fundamentally change” America.
I fear that it will take another even more catastrophic event to restore America’s patriotism. After all, other than TSA and Homeland Security, what effects are left seventeen years later? Today’s college students didn’t know our world before 9/11, they were unborn or maybe toddlers then. Many adults who experienced that day have forgotten how horrifying it was and choose to push the memory away. That is why, seventeen years later, we have a growing number of Muslims running for political office – and winning! They are taking their oaths of office with their hands on the Quran, not the Bible.
We need to remember 9.11.2001, not brush it away to the basement of history.
God Bless America!
Linda Sauer
