Shots Across The Bow

United 93 as a Call to Action

No, I haven't seen it yet.

Yes, I will be seeing it, but probably not tonight.

For a variety of reasons, it seems that most folks want to let 9/11 slide into the past, and those that don't mostly want to use it to manipulate other folks. I think it's time we remember exactly what happened that day, why it happened, and how a few Americans responded. To me, it bears directly on our future, and what we have to do to face it.

I'm going to indulge in a little speculation here. I'm betting that the passengers on Flight 93 didn't stop to ask "Why do they hate us?" when the terrorists took over the plane. I'm betting that any attempts at dialogue with the terrorists ended as soon as the flight attendant's throat was cut. I'm betting that when they organized and formed their action plane, they didn't ask each other if they were Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal. I'm betting that they didn't fight or grandstand among themselves for glory, personal, or political gain.

In short, I'm betting that these few people, placed under enormous pressure, behaved better during that 111 minute flight than the vast majority of our politicians, bureaucrats, members of the press, and celebrity advocates have since then.

They acted as we all believe Americans should act. With courage, honor, and not a small measure of patriotism. Knowing that they were going to die if they did nothing, and were probably still going to die if they fought back, they chose to fight because they thought it was important to deny success to the terrorists.

We need to be reminded of their courage and honor so that maybe we all can find it in ourselves before we face the end of a gun.

After the last election, there was a lot of bitterness among the political folks about the divide between the Red States and the Blue States. Political junkies from the Blue states heaped scorn and derision on the Red staters, talking about leaving the country, naming the Red states "Jesusland," as if that were an insult, and mocking the values that the Red staters held dear. Red staters in turn jeered at the folks in the Blue states, rubbing their noses in the loss, and rejecting any possibility that their way of life had any value whatsoever. The argument grew so loud and rancorous that, if all you did was read blogs and political commentary, you would think that a vast and unrepairable ideological divide split America.

Flight 93 forever proves that wrong. The folks on that flight were almost entirely folks from the bluest of Blue states, but their actions tied in directly to the values cherished by Red staters.

So what does that mean?

It means that Americans are still Americans, regardless of where they live or their political ideology. It means that true American values run deep in all the states, despite the rants of political ideologues. It means that, far from being deeply divided, the vast majority of Americans share common values, common hopes and dreams, and a common vision for our country.

It means that the greatest threat to America comes not from terrorists, Flight 93 showed that the average citizen can take care of that, but from within, from political ideologues sowing hate and discord to advance their own personal agenda. It comes from politicians who will do anything to stay in office, including hiding or spinning the truth in order to make it fit their platform. It comes from pundits who claim that the other side has no validity, that those on the other side are stupid or evil, instead of acknowledging a sincere difference of opinion rooted in shared values.

Isn't it time we told them all to shut up? Isn't it time that we told all the haters, from Limbaugh to Franken, O'Reilly to Rhodes to just shut the hell up for a while? Advancing a political agenda is one thing; doing so by tearing down the folks on the other side is another. It's shamefull. And how about we get our representatives in Washington to stop futzing around and deal with real issues. How about leaving gas prices alone and dealing with immigration? Forget strangling the internet and deal with a nuclear North Korea. Stop worrying about who can get married, and start worrying about how to keep Iran from starting an apocalyptic war.

You know, establish some damn priorities!

I look at the squabbling in Congress, the political manuevering and jockeying, and I am disgusted with both sides. Neither side has the integrity to deal with real issues, preferring instead to manipulate them to score political points off their opposition. I look at the press, slanting their coverage to get the best ratings, instead of telling the truth. For example, how many stories have you heard about record profits in the oil industry? Now, how many stories have you heard in that same press discussing that the record profits are due to higher sales volume, and not increasing margins?

It's pathetic.

I get discouraged from time to time, and decide that America is headed the way of Rome, towards decadence and dissolution. But every now and then, something happens that gives me hope, that tells me that the rot may be confined to a minority, and that most of us still know what it means to be free and independant. It tells me that most of us, even if on an instinctive level, remember that freedom has a price, and that while the price is high, it is worth paying. And I begin to think that if most of us do remember that, and believe it, then we still have a fighting chance to keep our nation whole and strong.

United 93 is not just a memorial to those who fought and won the first battle against terrorism in America; it's a reminder to all of us that we, the people, are America. We are its strength, its glory, and its best hope. We just have to have the courage to act like it. The folks on Flight 93 prove that we do, all of us, have that courage.

That's why it is important.

Posted by Rich at April 28, 2006 1:07 PM | TrackBack