September 11th, 2001: The Watchtowers of Freedom
America was not forged with the red hammer of conformity, nor was our revered way of life preserved by the idle hands of modern entitlement. This Republic was erected as an ideological bastion from which to harbor ordinary men and women from the historical remnants of injustice and to protect the indelible liberties of all mankind. As a sovereign nation defined by stringent geographic boundaries, our founding creed has no such limitations for life, liberty, justice and the pursuit of happiness are universal birthrights derived from the creative dominion of God's grace and wisdom.
And while it is true America cannot serve as the moral police of the world - bear the human cost of fighting every battle to free every forsaken soul from the clutches of oppression without their willingness to recognize and defeat tyranny themselves - there is no respite from the conscious aftermath of acquiescing to human atrocity.
Reducing our defenses to the point of non-existence, albeit for economic gain or misguided policy, is to leave ourselves at the mercy of malevolence. I do not subscribe to the pacifist conundrum that by burying our head in the sand, ignoring the atrocities of totalitarian states or Islamo-fascists, "We the People" make our country safer & the world a better place in which to reside. It is simply the equivalent of watching a rape across the street & doing nothing to stop it. Frankly, we are better than that.
There is courage and then there is cowardice; no excuse will ever suffice in the annals of history or before the eyes of God. When our nation’s resolve was baptized beneath the ruddy carnage of Pearl Harbor our military was so vulnerable & neglected it took years of nationalizing private industry to rebuild our feeble defenses.
For far too long the United States of America – the supposed fearless leader of the free world – callously hid behind a policy of isolationism as World War II raged on & millions were lost beneath the boot of German fascism & Japanese imperialism. In essence, by casting a shadow of weakness, our calculated indifference eliminated any hope of deterring or preventing such a horrific tragedy. Truly, how many more lives could have we saved? More profoundly, what if our families were the victims of the Holocaust, the Ukrainian Famine, or the Armenian genocide? Should I even have to ask such a selfish question?
Pretending evil does not exist, failing to prepare for its inevitability, will not save us from its wrath. Likewise, blaming America for 9/11 is but to embolden our enemies for they will never cease in their lust for our demise. If Iran or China can speak openly of their bloodthirsty hatred for Western Civilization, cultivate their culture of unapologetic brutality, why should this "last, best hope of mankind" cower in the politically convenient shadows of capitulation and appeasement? America is but a name, for it is freedom, tolerance, and our Judeo-Christian ideals they despise.
To lower our guard out of some misplaced sense of guilt or to seduce political favor is to sentence this nation to that which we are already guaranteed: death. I do not fear death; I fear watching my loved ones needlessly suffer beneath the rolling fog of blind apathy as any chance for recourse or valor fades beyond the autonomy of my fingertips. For the sake of my children and the country I call home, I would rather fight for the soul of creation – the last vestiges of decency and hope – than to kneel before the soiled blade of subjugation. May God Bless the heroes and victims of September 11th, 2001, and may humanity forever honor its intrinsic duty to eradicate such unrepentant evil wherever it may exist.
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