Lessons of 9/11

Another anniversary of 9/11 got me thinking of the lessons of that day. President Bush declared in 2001 that 9/11 was an attack on freedom. He dedicated himself, successfully, to the protection of the American people and to the protection of their freedom. I have since pondered why he was so successful and whether we will continue.

First you have to recognize that 9/11 was a continuation of a drama that has played out throughout human history. The desire for freedom is innate to the human psyche, but so is the malevolent desire to dominate. Even our nation as it strove for the former has committed the sin of the latter. Our forefathers founded a nation of freedom on the back of slaves. But we have since repented and deserve forgiveness as we overcome racism. But as we turned from the slavery of the 19th century to the isolationism of the 20th century, we discovered the struggle continued on the world stage. After two world wars we realized that if we do not direct world events, someone else will. Communism rose immediately in the last half of the previous century as then new enslaver. When the Cold War ended abruptly, Saddam Hussein took Kuwait much as Hitler took Poland. We acted to dislodge him to prevent another world war but our actions angered Islamofacists who acted against us on 9/11. This struggle will never end. We can retreat and let someone else force us into another world war or we can continue to play the manifest role we have as the word's only super power.

Our success in changing two governments in the Middle East and dismantling Al Qaeda is owed to a strong military and intelligent agency. They also have the most technologically advanced tools developed by unleashed innovation. Innovation is fostered by capitalism which allows people and corporations to profit from their innovation. Both organizations are motivated by strong patriotism, a long-fostered characteristic of our nation.

Unfortunately, the current administration is assaulting our nation. Its takeover of businesses, badmouthing them, taxing them and regulating them to death will slow the progress of innovation. The refusal to wear the American flag on the lapel and suspicion of patriotism undermines the moral of the the military. Saying that people went into the military because they could not get a regular job in Bush's economy is insulting. Prosecuting intelligence agents for protecting us will bring this to a halt. We can't even call the replacement for the World Towers the Freedom Tower because it offends people. What's up with that? Peaceniks cry for us to play nice and leave the world alone. This will leave malevolent forces to wreak havoc on the world stage. The oppression of Viet Nam and North Korea left in the wake of listening to these "do-gooders" will become the global norm until a mushroom cloud vaporizes another group of liberals in LA, NY, Chicago or Washington.

The Federal government itself has become the oppressor of 9/11. As Islamofacists want to force their morality on us, Liberals lecture us that providing health care for everyone is our moral obligation and proposes the government force us to do it. Forcing someone to do something they do not want to do is the essence of slavery unless you return something of value back the them. Taxing you to protect you from terrorists is not slavery, but taking your money to give to someone else is. Taxing the "rich" to support someone else is no different than forcing black slaves to work to support white masters. (By the way, protecting America, unlike Obama care, is almost deficit neutral. How much revenue has the government raised on the rising stock market since 9/11 and the two wars versus doing nothing and letting the economy continue to tank?)

While liberals bad-mouth our forefathers as dead, white slave-owners, I forgive them their sins and thank them for gifting us a republic with the right to vote for our leaders. The tea-party movement drives Liberals nuts but in spite of the insults hurled at them from public officials, estimates indicate 2010 could shift Congress by 100 seats or more. And if they don't get it, we will shift again until someone figures out that moral obligations are a matter of conscience, not a Federal issue, profit is not a dirty word, and "God Bless America" is not racist profanity.