My Sunday Thought for 9/11/2016: Patriot Day - UA Flight 93

UA Flight 93 Crash Site

The image above should be a stark reminder to all Americans of what it means to be a patriot.  This is the crater and the associated debris field, all that was left to sift through, after a passenger jet hits the ground like a giant lawn dart.  This was UA Flight 93 after passengers, having heard what had occurred just minutes before at the World Trade Center, refused to sit idly by and let their flight become another weapon of mass destruction.  There was a question of whether Flight 93 was shot down by our own fighter jets, or if the passengers succeed in their efforts.    According to one military pilot, sent up that day to prevent more attacks, the fighters in her squadron were sent up unarmed since there had been no time to upload weapons.  Our brave fighter pilots were on their own suicide missions to take out any other non-responsive passenger jets with the only weapon at their disposal. They were sent to kill their fellow Americans in order to save an untold number of other Americans.   Thank God they didn't have to.

 Al-Qaeda terrorists 4, American patriots 40; an expensive win for our nation.

I wrote 9/11 As a Celebration of Life in 2013, several months after I began blogging "The Path."  I followed up in 2014 with September 11, 2001, and I wrote my first post in remembrance of Patriot Day last year, Patriot Day - 9/11.  Where others may forget, daily, the sacrifices made by those who fight and die to secure our safety and freedoms in this country, I make a choice not to.  Does this make me better than others?  No.  Well, maybe it makes me better than those perpetually offended individuals who think it's okay to disrespect the very country giving them the freedom and right to be offended at every little thing, instead of utilizing the legal recourse at their disposal or voting to change it.  I suppose it is easier for some to constantly bitch and complain like whiny little spoiled babies.  But, I digress.

Who were the patriots on September 11, 2001?  Were they the 2,937 people that died in the two successful attacks at the World Trade Center buildings (Twin Towers) and the Pentagon?  Were they the 40 passengers of Flight 93 that willingly went to war onboard their airliner and died preventing an attack on the U.S. Capitol or the White House?  Were they the first responders who kept going back into the buildings to save people until the structure collapsed killing many, and are still dying to this day due to medical issues arising from their selfless actions?  Or, perhaps they were the brave, selfless, fighter pilots who, by the grace of God, did not have to ram their fighters down the throats of a cowardly enemy who continues to use innocent civilians as shields and statements in the heresy of their misdirected faith lorded over by cowardly imams who would no sooner put on a suicide vest than give up their lofty positions of leadership directing these weak minded faithful with false interpretations of their holiest of scripture.

They are heroes all; the victims were martyrs to remind us of those freedoms we take for granted until someone steps in and tries to take them from us; the first responders who daily put boot to ass knowing they may be walking into no win situations where lives, including their own, are on the line; those brave military men and women who went unarmed into the valley of death for the preservation of what we hold dearest, and to send the enemy a message of our own; and certainly the brave men and women of United Airlines Flight 93, who took matters into their own hands to prevent even worse destruction if their own hijackers had succeeded.  These are the heroes of our national pride.  These are the men and women who do not run their mouths concerning the multitude of perpetual imagined offenses, the minutia of our lives when you consider how much more there is to be concerned about.

If I were to pick one of these groups to hold out as an example of American spirit, I would go with the passengers of Flight 93, and here is my reasoning.

Flight 93 were not volunteers or first responders that know their career has risks which they may not survive.  Weren't they victims like all those other innocent civilians which died?  They might have been, except that they chose not to be.  They made a conscious decision that the good of the many outweighed the good of the few.  They chose courage.  They memorial at the crash site says it best:  "The brave men and women who gave their lives to save so many others.  Their courage and love of their country will be a source of strength and comfort to our great nation."

When I see football quarterbacks not standing and saluting the flag during the national anthem before the game, it saddens me at their lack of respect for the flag, the country, and heroes like the passengers of Flight 93.  People disrespecting our flag and country to make a statement are Americans in name only.  They take advantage of the freedom and rights which others have fought and died for.  They are closet cowards, but they are far from being an American patriot.  If you want to see a patriot, look to the medal presentations at the Olympics and find the winner who cries as the flag is raised and the anthem is played.

Patriotism isn't a title; it is a state of mind.  Are you a patriot?  Well, what would you do if you had been on Flight 93?

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

-- John 15:13

Note:  For more information about the crash of Flight 93, I used the following sites in a bit of my research for this post:  Evidence: The Crash of Flight 93, Air Traffic Control Recording-United Airlines Flight 93, and Specialist's Factual Report of Investigation-Digital Flight Data Recorder.  I used many other online references too numerous to list, and mostly for my own interest and edification.  Please feel free to look up the information on these brave passengers, and don't forget to have tissues at the ready.

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. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, 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.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.