This really angers me:
The nation marked the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with rain-soaked remembrances and acts of volunteerism honoring those who rushed into danger to help.
Around the country, Americans packed up care packages for soldiers, planted gardens for low-income families and painted abandoned, boarded-up homes. The anniversary Friday was declared a day of service for the first time this year to pay homage to those who sacrificed their lives to save others from the burning World Trade Center.
Packing care packages for troops is a fine way to remember 9/11. But the rest? Do it on another day. This type of sad remembrance is appropriate for the day when we've beaten our jihadi enemies and we're looking back at the cost of victory. But now, while we still fight them every day? Not a chance.
Remember, September 11 is Patriot Day. This isn't Public Service Day. September 11 should be the day that we watch and listen to the events of September 11, 2001, and remember the shock and anger we felt.
Remember the shock of the first plane flying into the World Trade Center, thinking it had to be a freak accident.
Remember the second plane going in, which meant you knew we were under attack.
Remember the strike on the Pentagon which showed that this was a serious attempt to defeat us.
Remember that after three strikes, you wondered just how many planes were under enemy control.
Remember the White House and Capitol Building being evacuated because they might be targets.
Remember the horrifying thought that we might have to shoot down civilian airliners filled with our own people to keep them from being used as cruise missiles against us.
Remember looking up in the sky that day and seeing nothing flying (unless you were in a city with combat air patrols over it). There were no contrails and no engine noises--not even small prop planes or helicopters.
But most important, remember that on that day of horror, Americans fought back in the skies over Pennsylvania. American civilians demonstrated the resolve that our enemies thought we lacked. Those passengers fought for their plane and compelled the enemy to crash their plane into the ground rather than see our people take it back. This is what we should be remembering.
This is what should inspire us to fight and win.
And if you are too young to remember this day, watch what happened and make this day your own, too. Your country was attacked and our enemies want to carry out more attacks like that--attacks that you will remember.
September 11 should be a day to steel our resolve to win this Long War. That's what I resolved just days after the attack.
On September 11th, I don't even fly my flag at half-staff. That's a practice for sadly counting our losses and remembering our dead. How long did it take for Pearl Harbor Day to become a day of remembering our dead from December 7, 1941 rather than being a day for inspiring us to defeat our enemy? Certainly no sooner than 1945, I'd say.
I fly our flag at the top of the staff--the proper position for a flag that we carry into battle to kill our enemies and defeat them. One day, I hope we have the luxury of weepy remembrance and acts of service unrelated to war.
We haven't reached that day. We can't even see that day yet, people.
Steel your resolve. We're at war. Remember?
