We Have Lost Our Virginity

(I sat here and tried to think of something to say, but I cannot say it any better than I did 9 years ago, so I chose to republish this. It first appeared on 9/13/01 on the Women's Firearm Network.)

(September 13, 2001) Tuesday, September 11, 2001 will forever be the day that we as a nation lost our virginity. And in the worst possible way. There is no other way for me to put it. I have spent the last 2 days unable to walk away from the television horrified, shocked and angered at what I was seeing. There is still a part of me that has not quite accepted it. But, there is no other way to look at it. We are immune no more.

The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon sounded the opening of a war which no nation is truly prepared or willing to wage. Unlike past wars and past battles, our enemy chooses to hide in the shadows of the world, sending forth their evil operatives to kill and destroy. Make no mistake though - this enemy has as their goal our destruction. They are willing to die to further that goal. They are willing to sacrifice their children to these same dark ends. They dance in the streets as we weep.

America has learned a hard lesson. We are not universally loved. Somewhere on this planet are those that would destroy us simply because they don't like us, or our way of life. We cannot fathom that our freedom offends these animals. If we are to get past this horrible moment, then we had best accept that fact. We should not harden our hearts against strangers, but we should know that we have some truly evil enemies and recognize them for what they are.

We will never be the same again. Things are going to have to change if we are going to win this war. Even now, things that would have been unthinkable just a few days ago are now reality. The Air Force and Navy are flying air patrols over the United States. Carrier groups are laying off of our major coastal cities. Airport security is going to be genuine security. These are the things that are now part of our reality.

These are not bad things, nor are they of issue with the Constitution. These are the things that a free nation at war does to defend itself. Many of us lawfully carry a firearm daily to defend ourselves. Well air patrols, naval patrols and secure airports are weapons that America needs to carry for its self defense. We should remain vigilant that our rights are not compromised, however, and make certain that the zealotry of security does not overtake the freedoms that are the essence of America.

But we cannot allow ourselves to succumb to the terror. And that may be the biggest fight of all. The one with our own human nature. The reflex that tells you to pull into a shell. Because yielding to that reflex is precisely what the enemy is after. If we are to win this war the first thing we have to do is step up to our reputation as Americans. The 'Home of the Brave' needs to be just that.

I had at first been angered by all of the closings and cancellations, seeing them as surrender to the enemy. I was all set to say so here. And then I heard an interview with NBC Sportscaster Bob Costas on MSNBC. He made a point I had forgotten in all of my institutional anger. I had forgotten that the athletes and performers are Americans, too. They are, individually, as hurt and angry as every one of us. They did not feel they could play or perform well this weekend, much like so many of us cannot quite settle back into the job. I forgot they were just people, too.

So we will have our period to mourn and to collect our thoughts and fully accept what has happened to us. And we should. But we should look to the bright spots as well. Shining through the darkness of this tragedy are small bright spots that are what America is really about. We have the men on United flight 73 who, according to all reports, took on the terrorists, and through their actions, were able to avert a fourth attack. They knew they would not survive their effort, but they knew they had to stand up and fight. True heroes.

There are the innumerable stories of heroics in the rescue efforts. Volunteers from all over America flowing into New York to lend their needed skills to this effort. They work for no pay with no benefits in an almost incalculably risky situation. And they barely take breaks. There are the firefighters, who are heroes on a daily basis, risking all to try to save just one person, knowing that hundreds of their colleagues lay beneath that smoking ruin.

We need to look to Israel for some guidance. They have lived with terrorism for many years, and have survived and kept their freedoms intact. They have managed to get up and dust themselves off after every bombing, no matter how horrible. They have pointed an outstretched middle finger to the enemy and gone back to their lives. The pizza restaurant that was bombed there last month has already reopened, and is busier than ever. They have accepted the needs of security and found a way to keep their freedom.

I am due to get on an airplane next Friday morning to attend the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Cincinnati, and I have every intention of being on that flight. I will deal with the new regulations. I will pack my knife in my checked luggage instead of in my pocket, and be there early with photo ID in hand. And I will not complain about it, either. It is part of the way we will have to live to win this war. Our parents and grandparents lived through World War II with many restrictions and constraints necessitated by the war. And they defeated the great evil that was consuming the earth. It is now our turn to fight that battle.

We as a people can do this. We can, as President Bush said, "whip terrorism." We can make the sacrifices needed and the effort required to get our nation back on its feet. And we should replace the World Trade Center with a bigger and better one. That can be our outstretched middle finger to those evil animals that took our virginity one awful Tuesday morning.

(Note (9/11/10): This year has the added issue of controversy about the mosque proposed for near the WTC site. I have posted on that before. There is also the ongoing book burning threat from Gainesville. However, today is not a day for that stuff, nor is it a day for publicity hungry politicians or crackpots. We can resume all of that tomorrow. For today, we can set aside the partisan and political differences and remember that all of American was attacked 9 years ago and all Americans felt the loss.)

The Mosque Mess

Over the last week, I have been very busy with actual business and have not had the time to post anything here. Also, I have been fairly hesitant to weigh in on the mosque mess. Add to that my growing concern over the tenor of that debate and it is easy to see why the sidelines look so attractive on this issue.

However, the debate has now taken a turn that is more than just the normal flaming spitballs launched across the growing partisan divide. To really look at this fairly, you have to break it into 2 debates.

The first debate has to be the planned Islamic Center/Mosque near the World Trade Center site, or as it is known, the Ground Zero Mosque. Setting aside the obvious misnomer that is what it is known as and what I will call it. And let's all agree right off the top that there is a clear Constitutional and legal right to build that facility in that location. However, there is a principled, albeit emotional argument for moving it a little further from the actual site of the 9/11 attacks.

Eric Bolling at Fox best voices this. Please note that I am not a Fox fan at all. Or an MSNBC or CNN fan. From my perspective, most of the media (lame, main and otherwise) is so deeply engaged in the blindly partisan mud fest we call politics that they are useless as observers and reporters. Bolling however, while clearly voicing his conservative beliefs, is one of the few on either side that gives credence to an opposing perspective.

Anyway, Bolling explains it simply. He was in a cab on the way to WTC on 9/11. He saw the plane hit the tower. He lost a lot of friends and coworkers that day. I lost friends too, but I was in the comfort of my South Florida kitchen at the time. Eric was there. He worked there. Most folks have seen his safe deposit box. If you haven't seen it, Google it or whatever.

Bolling always acknowledges that the developer has every right the build it there. He is clear on that. However, for him, and many others, it is a strong emotional issue. It is that simple. To Bolling and a lot of folks, it is an affront, and an intentional one. I understand and respect that. I even agree to an extent. I personally think that the developer knows exactly what he is doing and refuses to even discuss a change of plans. For many like Eric Bolling, this is a personal insult.

That is something the developer should take into consideration, but does not have to. It is the kind of thing that does more for community outreach than a hundred open houses and bake sales. That is all folks like Eric want. Respect and some consideration of their emotions about the 9/11 attacks.

However, many others are not so pure of intention. Take Newt Gingrich, who most famously said that it is like putting a Nazi sign next to the Holocaust Museum in Washington. I guess to those who revel in the endless Nazi analogies, this makes sense. Unfortunately, it does not.

First, we would allow the Nazi sign next to museum. It is called freedom of speech and freedom of expression. It would be seriously distasteful, but it would be protected speech. Second, can all of you lay off the Nazi analogies for at least a month? It tends to minimize the true and deep evil that Hitler perpetrated. Also, its sounds stupid. Democrats did it to Bush, Republicans are doing it to Obama. Even though it is protected speech, it is distasteful and somewhat stupid speech.

And, worse than the Nazi analogists are the flat out haters. Those who dislike all Moslems and view all of them as the same as radical Islam. They are not. Most Moslems are just like everyone else. They just want to have a nice day. Of course those who attacked us did so in the name of radical Islam, but they are a small percentage. Painting all of Islam with that brush is wrong.

And that is what is happening now. Opposition to mosques in Tennessee, California and Wisconsin is significant and ugly. Those areas do not have the emotional argument that Eric Bolling and his peers do. Those that oppose those mosques do so out of either misplaced anger or straight out hate. Listen to the arguments.

Accusations that those mosques will allow strict Sharia law to be practiced. Well, I doubt very heavily that there will be any stonings in Murfreesboro, Tennessee or Temecula, California. This is the kind of stuff the opponents of the mosques outside New York are pushing. They use phrases like, "...taking over the US from the inside."

That last phrase should sound familiar. It was applied to Irish immigrants, Italians, Jews and recently, Hispanics. It is standard fare for the xenophobes. No matter who it is, they are always somehow plotting to take over the US from the inside. Oddly, it never seems to happen.

So there are really two debates here. One is a principled, albeit emotional argument from New Yorkers who still feel the pain and anguish from 9/11. As a compassionate and understanding American, I understand and respect their feelings. I support their effort to open a dialog to try to move the Islamic Center. It is a fair and understandable request. As a side note, there are those who suggest that it is time for Bolling and his peers to "get over it." How dare they. Whether or not I share the emotions Bolling has, we should respect them. Not respecting Bolling or anyone else's feelings is no better than those who oppose all mosques.

The other debate is not so principled. It is based on hate and misinformation and forwarded by those who simply wish to keep Moslems out of our society. To those people I say shut up. Keep your petty hate and bile to yourselves and accept that this is America and freedom is an absolute. To those in California, Tennessee and Wisconsin who are mounting hate based campaigns against peaceful good citizens, I say stop. You damage this nation with your every word and deed. Hate our enemy. Hate those who killed 3,000 on 9/11. But do not hate all who are Moslem. Most are good folks and good neighbors.

By the way, as much as I dislike the haters like Gingrich and Bo Dietl, and would love for them to just shut up, I also recognize that our amazing Constitution protects even stupid hateful speech like Dietl's inaccurate hysterics about Sharia law and Gingrich's snarling Nazi analogies. So I defend their right to free speech as much as anyone else's.

Simply put, we can have a debate about the Ground Zero location for the mosque with no hate for all Moslems (as Mr. Bolling has done) or we can descend into the kind of hate we are supposed to be better than as Americans.