Twenty years can go in the blink of an eye. We are 3 days from 20 years. 20 years of chaos, 20 years of anger, 20 years of melancholy, 20 years of tears, 20 years of terror, 20 years of a new way of living life. Americans have always likened ourselves to be ironclad. No one would dare attack America on its own soil. We had the Trade Center bombing in 1993. Timothy McVeigh had blown up the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995. The latter of these 2 was an American with a grudge to carry out. If you have ever seen the Gadsden Flag and the phrase, “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, that is the idea of what most Americans felt up to 8 am Eastern time on 9/11/2001.
Hawaii was not a state until 1959. In 1941, it was still considered American soil. One December 7th, 1941, the Japanese Empire said the same thing to America. That attack brought us into a 2nd World War within 25 years. So what lessons did Pearl Harbor teach America? It would almost seem that it taught us that while our outlying areas could be at risk, true American soil was still sacred ground. No one would dare attack America within the confines of its borders.
So, nearly 60 years from the Pearl Harbor bombings, we learn that our soil is not Holy Ground. it is not consecrated by The Pope or some divine entity. What a lesson for us to learn. Nearly 3,000 people leave for work with no thought in their mind that it would be the last day spent on Earth.
At the end of 20 years of war, where are we at now? What have we accomplished? What have we made better than it was on 9/12/2001? Was the price of the War on Terror worth it? Lives? Money? A change in the way Americans are viewed throughout the world?
On the 11th of September, 1683, Islamic armies were turned away in Vienna. It would be the last time that an Islamic Army would truly pose a considerable threat to a Christian power. A day that offered such a large defeat that there has never been another such threat by an Islamic force since.
Does a Christian is better than a Muslim or a Muslim feels they are better than a Christian? Where do you stand in this matter? Why is it so important for Jesus or Allah to be the victor to those who so strongly feel that way? Whatever you may feel from a religious or pride of country, it is important to realize certain things.
Our country is seen by the world as a place where you can be who it is you choose to be. You can speak out against your own nation without fear of being persecuted or killed. Its a liberty that we take for granted quite often. We will always be hated by any religion who’s concept of women is that they are property and not humans. We will always be seen as the snake if we attempt to help others out when atrocities happen that we do not condone.
As we enter year 20, let us understand that many of those who are in office today were in office 20 years ago. The anger of 20 years seems to have been faded. We find ourselves doing something that we so often do. We let time fade our minds. We late history become footnotes in a book. Where is Pearl Harbor? Well that is in Chapter 12 on page 287. Slowly, we find that 9/11 is mentioned this weekend, where will it be for you? For your children, and as 20 more years goes by, their children?
It is a time to pray for our country, for those who were lost, those who have been lost defending the honor of the fallen, those who made it home but were never whole again, and for those who have felt the effects of one or all of them.
If you could go back in time to this day. If you could find a way to prevent what started all of this from happening, would you? I would be pretty sure that most would answer yes. While that is not a possibility, letting time take over the lessons we have been given is in many ways, the same thing. Let time heal our wounds, but not our resolve. Let it teach us vigilance and not fear.
The Beaten Path 