September 11 - Have We Forgotten?

For the second week in a row, PET PEEVE MONDAY has been pre-empted. Don’t kid yourself. I’m not content with the way things are in society today. I have plenty of PET PEEVES. It just happens that this Monday is September 11.

For those of you looking for my regular dose of irony, sarcasm, or humor, read no further. September 11 changed my life.

As the defining moment of my generation, people always say, they will never forget where they were on this date.

On 9/11/01, I was heading to a co-worker’s house. We were planning a noon flight from Dayton to Chicago. We were going to mix a little business with a lot of pleasure. We were going to see a couple of Reds games against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Our expense statement would show that our customers attended the games, and that they were quite hungry and thirsty.

I was driving and listening to the AM news when the first plane hit. I instinctively called my neighbor. Her husband worked and lived in NYC, most of the time. She immediately updated me on what she knew from the news channels. She quickly got off the phone to call her spouse.

When I arrived at my friend’s house, we turned on his TV. Just then, we saw the second plane hit the South Tower. We looked at each other and knew that we were not going anywhere that day.

In a matter of a few hours, history unfolded in front of us. At the time, nobody knew what was the extent and breadth of the attacks. There were many false alarms that day.

About 2 p.m., I slowly made my 80-mile trek home to my family. The hugs went on all night long.

My interest in travel, and work for that matter, were never the same after September 11. It was tragic to think that 3,000 innocent people were just doing what they did every day, but were irrevocably and mortally caught in the crosshairs of some terrorists. When people say that “Life is Too Short”, they are being glib.

I used to love international travel. I had been to over 25 countries, prior to 9-11. Since then, I have traveled to Canada, once.

I don’t fear for my life by traveling.

I hate the inconvenience of flying. I hate the indignity of having to take off my shoes. I hate the fact that I have to be patted down, have been questioned, and have been un-necessarily delayed. Exactly how many blond haired, blue-eyed terrorists have we experienced?

Screw the racial profiling argument. If Nordics were attacking America, I would be the first to get in line to be searched.

With the recent August scare in London, we now cannot take any liquids, toothpastes, or gels on planes. What will happen when some terrorist wanna-be decides to hide liquid explosives in a bra or body cavity? Do we now fly nude or wear only a paper gown? Are TSA proctologists that far fetched of an idea?

BTW, the technology exists where someone can implant explosives into their body (e.g. calves, pects, breasts, love handles).

If someone is intent on a suicidal mission, how do we psychologically screen them? They will not, and cannot be stopped.

Upon further review, when you take my individual non-travel history since 9-11 into consideration, the Terrorists have won.

Here is my 9-11 Solution.

Make September 11th a National Holiday.

Make it a crime for anyone to announce a September 11 Super Sale. A s a matter of principle, CLOSE ALL BUSINESSES and CANCEL MAIL SERVICE. There should be NO COOKOUTS or POOL PARTIES. NO GAME SHOWS, NO SOAP OPERAS, AND DEFINETLY NO REALITY SHOWS on TV. Make all TV stations run 9-11 features and tributes. Make 9-11 the REALITY show for everyone.

David Worley was prophetic in his 2003 song. “Have You Forgotten?”

Make no mistake, we have.

It has only been 5 years since this tragic day. Last night, President Bush attempted to invoke a non-partisan reminder of why we should never forget that day. Before the speech even aired, the Democrats had started their spin machine with statements about how Bush had politicized September 11th.

ENOUGH. Both of you go to TIME-OUT. Why do so many people have to amplify our differences rather than to recognize our similarities? The terrorists are our enemies, not each other.

The ideological war can be won. It has happened with the Nazis and the Communists. Now it is the Islamic Fascists.

I wasn’t around in 1941, but I doubt that FDR encountered the roadblocks we now face. Domestic spying is OK, if it uncovers terrorist plots. Forget civil liberties. To paraphrase FDR, “if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.”

There is a great series of books written by Robert Cowley titled, “What If?”

The books provide essays as to what would have happened had Hitler never been born or conversely if Hitler would have won WWII?

I wonder, what if we had been more aggressive against terrorists before they attacked?

What if Clinton had bombed the al-Qaeda terrorists camps with a pre-emptive strike prior to 9-11? What would have been the reaction?

We probably would have said Clinton was distracting attention from the Lewinsky scandal. People would have said that the threat was not imminent. Compare this to the Democrats’ statements about Iraq.

When is a threat not a threat? I don’t know.

Let’s make ourselves feel safe. If we see a threat, we damn well better take it out.

We DID NOT before 9-11. There was a threat. We knew there was, but we did not act.

I find no fault in being better safe, than sorry, any more.

If I was in charge, I would send eviction notices to Iran, North Korea, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Taliban for starters. All hate puveyors and sponsors of terrorism would be on the Eradication To Do List.

Let them know that there is a New World Order Sheriff in town.

Sounds good.

It will never happen.