My Sunday Thought for September 6, 2015: Patriot Day - 9/11

A patriot is ever mindful of what is at risk.  Death is an afterthought to the possible loss of God, country, family, and a way of life.  Why are we going to war?  Why, for "mom, apple pie, and the girl next door," of course!

Apple Pie looks good posing as a flag pole, doesn't she?  Or, is she the girl next door?  Does it really matter?  Well, not to me.  Am I a patriot?  Oh, hell yes!  But, what is a patriot?  Conservatives and Liberals and will differ on the answer, and this should come as no surprise, since they represent the hawks and doves, respectively.  This is a good thing as we need balance in our government.

The two factions, no... all the factions, the differing parties, are supposed to reflect the wants and desires of the people they represent.  They're supposed to.  I really don't think they've represented anything but their own self-interests for a long time now, and we, regardless of party affiliation (if any) continue to allow them to dictate to us.  Our government representatives realized, some time back, that they can lie to us and we will allow them to show us into the "showers" like the fat, lazy, trusting (re: gullible) sheep we have grown into, never thinking for a moment as to why they aren't following us in, or leading the way.  Election years are simply another opportunity for us to belly up to the bar as they serve us up another cup of their cyanide laced Kool Aid.  They are slowly killing us, and our country, and we just don't seem to care, because when we do care, there is always a new line of bullshit to placate us.  

I'm drifting off track a bit.  Where was I?  Oh, yeah... patriots.

We see each side, hawks and doves, in the dictionary definition.  A patriot is defined as a noun, and chiefly British: "A person who loves and strongly supports or fights for his or her country."  Well, personally, I think this definition, for most patriots, really sucks.  There can be no "or" for a patriot.  A patriot loves, strongly supports, and is willing to fight, and die if need be, for their country.  "Or" simply gives the coward an out for not stepping up, if their able, to be counted, to be a good citizen, to give back for all the freedom they enjoy.  How can one strongly support their country, yet not be willing to fight for it?  Willing to fight means you're willing to die to protect everything we hold dear.  But, a willingness to sacrifice one's life is not a reflection of one's intent to die.

The muster-roll of the dead may be a monument of governmental incapacity as well as a certificate of patriotism and courage. It is always glorious for the other man to die for his country,—at least the survivor says so; but the fact that his life has been needlessly thrown away is calculated to throw some doubt on the subject. A civilized nation cannot afford to throw away a single life.

-- 1883 “The United Service: A Monthly Review of Military and Naval Affairs”

So, Johnny, keep your barrel bright,

And go where you are told to go,

And when you meet, by day or night,

Our friend the enemy, lay him low;

And you must neither boast nor quake,

Though big guns roar and whizz-bangs whizz—

Don’t die for your dear country’s sake,

But let the other chap die for his.

-- Thomas William Hodgson Crosland (1917), “Dying for Your Country”

“No dumb bastard ever won a war by going out and dying for his country. He won it by making some other dumb bastard die for his country.”

-- Gen. George S. Patton (1942)

If we aren't willing to give our all, what does this say about us?   What kind of a deterrent do we present to the enemy at the gate if we cower in fear of doing what we know to be right?  Even conscientious objectors volunteer as medics during wartime, and the fact that they were on the front lines willing to die in order to save lives, made them patriots.

We have recently witnessed the fruits of cowardice, while engaging the enemy, when Iraqi forces ran away with their tails tucked snugly between their legs virtually handing their country over to ISIS.  I look forward to bearing witness for the kinder and gentler of us when ISIS comes to America.  It will be interesting to see how fast some of us sacrifice our gentle nobility when an insane Islamic heretic is running toward their wife and baby with a machete.  This is when it gets real.  The enemy won't be wielding the blade in hopes of carving Christmas ham, unless your name happens to be Christmas Ham, in which case, well... it really sucks being you.

One question in my mind, which I hardly dare mention in public, is whether patriotism has, overall, been a force for good or evil in the world. Patriotism is rampant in war and there are some good things about it. Just as self-respect and pride bring out the best in an individual, pride in family, pride in teammates, pride in hometown bring out the best in groups of people. War brings out the kind of pride in country that encourages its citizens in the direction of excellence and it encourages them to be ready to die for it. At no time do people work so well together to achieve the same goal as they do in wartime. Maybe that's enough to make patriotism eligible to be considered a virtue.

-- Andy Rooney

As much as the military, our first responders risk and give their all on a daily basis as they confront superheated infernos, and criminals wearing body armor while firing fully automatic weapons of war they procured from an FBI sting operation gone bad.  These are the men and women on the front lines here at home, trying to save lives and keep us safe as they are ducking bullets from some sociopathic sniper with a military grade night vision scope.

There was a time when we could look to our leaders in government to define patriotism.  We could rest assured they, of all people, would try to do the right thing.  Our government has become infected with self-serving criminals, liars at best, and traitors at worst.  It tests our loyalty.  Mark Twain said, "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it."  Our government lies to us constantly, and we sit back and take it because it's the best thing we have.  Really?  One of our Founding Fathers had this to say about expectations of government and simply taking what they say at face value:

“The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ... What country before ever existed a century and half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it's natural manure.”

-- Thomas Jefferson

Does this necessarily mean we must always revolt to incite change?  Yes!  Our revolt comes in the form of our vote.  Voting is the exercise of the quiet patriot.  If we do nothing else in support of our country, we must always vote.  It is through our vote that we show our individualism, our unity, our differences, and a belief in our political system as a force for good in the world.  Politicians need to be reminded often that the only true constant in the universe is change.

“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”

-- Theodore Roosevelt

Aristotle wrote, "It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen."  One doesn't have to look hard to see the good people, good citizens, bad citizens, and traitors all around us.  They, for the most part, don't seem to find it a necessity to hide.  And, why should they?  We have become a society that accepts the good with the bad, mediocrity has become an expectation, and failure a reason to quit.  We also seem to have become suspicious, paranoid, and tentative.  Welcome to the America where, in the words of Fred Foster and Kris Kristofferson, "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."  And still, we continue dipping into the "bottomless" well and giving it all away.

One virtue Americans hold dear is our capacity for compassion.  We continue to volunteer, to "fight" for those unable to fight for themselves.  We step up for the disasters here and abroad.  With all we have done that is good around the world, all of the countries we have assisted, it is no wonder we are appalled when we find ourselves attacked by an enemy on our own soil.  How dare they!  How dare they?  We are weaker than we have ever been.  How dare they?  How dare they not?  

Maybe they are held back by a realization that, regardless of our ineffective government and the differences among us, if they attack our country again we'll step up as one people and kick their heretical asses hard enough to shatter their sad interpretation of the Qur'an so it will again become one of peace, love, and understanding.  Maybe they realize it is better to rattle a sabre from afar than to have the sabre sheathed up their wazoo, next to their head, so no one will ever hear it again, except them.  Ouch!  But, then, I’m a hawk.  I could be wrong. 

 When author Edward Bulwer-Lytton penned Cardinal Richelieu, in 1839, the pen was "mightier than the sword" only in that it would save Richelieu’s own pathetic life.  Any fool knows a pen will never stand against insane, sociopathic, terrorists armed with machetes, a misguided interpretation of jihad, and the belief that they can commit any sin against innocence as long as it forwards their personal murderous agenda to take over the world.  A pen?  Be real!  Agreements and treaties are only as honorable as the people signing them, ask any American indian.

On September 11, we will remember the terrorist attacks on our own soil.  We will have an opportunity to reflect on what it means to think you are above it all, untouchable, secure, and safe.  You will have an opportunity to ask yourself what you hold dear, are willing to sacrifice, and what, or who. you are willing to die for.  

The World Trade Center was not the only target.  The Pentagon took a hit from the third plane.  Those that died, and the first responders, are not the only heroes.  If we look for bravery, beyond a first responder's responsibility to do their job, we must look to the civilian passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93, the fourth plane.  Flight 93 should give us all a moment of pause.

“There is no greater love than this: that a person would lay down his life for the sake of his friends.”

-- John 15:13

As we remember the events of September 11, let us not forget who we are and what we represent.  We must all strive to be heroes; we must strive to be patriots, and we must never forget to always strive to be Americans.  It is who we are.    

Patriot Day is a day the US remembers the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This day is commonly referred to as "9-11" ("Nine-Eleven"). It is believed that 2,977 people died in the attacks. President George W. Bush proclaimed September 11th Patriot Day in 2002.

Facts about Patriot Day (Sept 11)

• On September 11th, US Flags should be flown at half mast - both on US soil and abroad.

• A moment of silence is held at 8:46 a.m. (EST) across the nation - commemorating the time the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

• The National September 11 Memorial and Museum takes up over half of the destroyed World Trade Center site. It contains bronze parapets inscribed with the names of those killed on September 11, 2001 and those killed in the 1993 World Trade Center attack.

• Cleaning up Ground Zero, as the World Trade Center was renamed, took 18 months and 19 days, and was completed in May of 2002.

• The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were once the tallest buildings in the world, and contained enough concrete to build a sidewalk from New York City to Washington D.C.

Patriot-Day - 9/11 

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."