The Spirit of 93

Anyone who doesn't believe we're in a war beyond anything this country has ever experienced is, well, probably not allowing the thought to enter his mind. I wouldn't blame a person for it, and a case could be made that people like me are just scaremongering. I wish that were true and I was mistaken. We all know that we've been attacked here in a horrific manner. We know that we've been attacked abroad, as in the incident involving the USS Cole, and others. What seems to be debated is the level of danger we are to infer from all these incidents.

Sadly, the competing views are generally split along party lines. I've said many times to friends and family that I don't remember the country being so polarized between Democrats and Republicans, conservative and liberal. When the shock of Sep. 11 wore off, it seems that it's been "politics as usual". Only the consequences are much more serious.

Of course, the perceived level of danger can't be proven either way, even though I wish it could be in order to resolve the dispute. I think fear is a prominent factor in this debate, and the way we deal with fear often shapes our perspectives. Fear is, of course, a natural human emotion, and one with enormous potential for exploitation. It is not confined to dictators, as our own politicians have had occasion to use it as a political weapon. Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his famous state of the union address, declared that we have "nothing to fear but fear itself". While many people look to this as sage advice, I consider it a vacuous assertion, and untrue. We, as Americans, have plenty to fear besides our own fears. Do I actually need to prove this?

Fortunately, some people in the country do get it. One is the father of Todd Beamer, one of the passengers who was aboard the ill fated flight 93 that crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside. Shortly after I started this essay, I saw him on the television talking about that day. He made the point that his son, along with other passengers, surely saved the lives of many with their actions to thwart the terrorists' twisted intentions. He sees with crystal clarity the grave nature of what our generation is presented with, and declared that we must never lose hold of waging the battle.

World history is dotted with examples of wars that had an inauspicious start. Here in our own country, we recall that the Revolutionary War had some "minor" incidents that led to full scale war, such as the Boston Massacre, in which British soldiers fired upon a group of hecklers in the streets, killing a few. The Civil War started with a bloodless surrender of Fort Sumter. Now, in our recent attack of the hijacker fanatics, do we see that a battle has also taken place with the jihadists, involving patriotic Americans and resulting in 100% casualties on both sides?

Todd Beamer and the rest of the Flight 93 passengers deserve our thanks for their service to this country. Yes, they were in fear for their safety. Yes, they were in fear as they came face to face with the hatred fomenting among radical Islamists. They feared the possibility that they were about to be used as a weapon to hurt more Americans, yet they stepped forward and gave their lives on their own terms. It's time we stepped forward to face this menace as they bravely did, and always remember the Spirit of 93.