Visiting The 9/11 Memorial

Three years ago this month my wife and I traveled to New York for her work. We stayed in a 100 year old hotel in Tribeca, just five blocks from the World Trade Center Memorial. We could see the new Freedom Tower from our room.

We got there on September 17th and missed the 9/11 memorial service. But walking through that memorial was humbling and emotional. No one at our hotel was old enough to have been working there that day but I know the hotel would have been engulfed in smoke and dust when the towers fell.

The memorial is simple yet screams volumes. The number of names on those edges is staggering. There were roses scattered about on the walls, no doubt left by people in remembrance of family members and/or friends who perished. There was a large police presence - many armed with M-16s. And it was surprisingly quiet.

For $30 per person you could go up to an observation deck that overlooks the remainder of the Trade Center sight. We decided we didn't want to pay that much to see destruction, opting to just take in the newness built from the rubble. And three years later that's still good enough for me.

I never would have believed it but I loved visiting New York. There was far more to our visit than the memorial but this week I'm thinking of that. May God comfort everyone who lost someone that day, whether in New York, Washington DC, or Shanksville, PA.

 Many have forgotten. I'm not one of them.

Thoughts on 9/11

On September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked by a group of Islamic extremists. They took nearly 3,000 innocent lives. And yes, “Islamic extremists” is the correct description. The attacks were carried out in the name of Allah.

I was in a meeting at work when the first plane hit. When I got back to my office my secretary told me about it and I turned on the TV behind my desk. I sat in wonder watching the North Tower burn and wondering how it was possible that a commercial airliner went so out of control that it crashed into the World Trade Center. Then I watched in horror as the second plane hit the South Tower.

It was then that I knew we were under attack. Not long after came the report of a third plane crashing into the Pentagon and a fourth crashing into a field in Pennsylvania. The fourth one had been headed toward the White House but was brought down in the field when passengers revolted and attempted to take back control of the plane. We know this from narratives of phone calls made by passengers before the plane crashed.

We all watched in horror as the towers collapsed onto themselves, knowing that the chances of anyone surviving after that were slim. And we cried.

The events of that day were life-changing for many, myself included. That day most Americans sat around in shock wondering what our future might bring. Would there be more attacks? How many died? And how could this have possibly happened? Many of us had difficulty sleeping that night.

September 12^th dawned and America came together as a nation, united in sorrow, anger, and determination. As Allen Jackson said so eloquently in his song “Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?” – they “stood in line and gave their own blood.” They volunteered to help first responders search for bodies, living or dead. They donated food and water to first responders. And they vowed to never forget and never allow it to happen again.

How quickly they forgot. It didn't take more than a year or so before calling Islamic extremists exactly that became politically incorrect. “All Muslims are not responsible for what happened,” they said. And they were correct. But every one of the terrorists who hijacked the planes was Muslim and the attacks were committed in the name of Islam. That's just fact.

The political correctness got worse. When President Trump banned travel to the United States from seven Islamic countries critics called it a “Muslim ban,” even though it was seven out of 50 countries that are Muslim controlled. Seven. Hardly a “Muslim ban.” But that's what we were told. And some still believe it.

Today, if you criticize Muslims it's considered hate speech. Even if what you say is true. It's just not acceptable in today's woke society. The Taliban recently showed us what Muslim extremists can and will do... but many Americans just don't want to pay attention.

We don't need another September 11^th. We do need another September 12^th. We need people to come together in love for our country and each other, particularly after the last couple of years. We need to remember how quickly lives can be taken and how quickly everything can change. September 11, 2001, taught us that very well. Except years of mostly non-events have eroded the memories of many. And that is sad.

My Body, My Choice...?

We've been hearing that for at least a decade. "My body, my choice." Women have marched in the streets and held rallies wearing vagina costumes to make their points.

It's all about abortion rights and abortion on demand. Pro choice people believe nothing should interfere with "women's health care." I can agree with that. The part with which I disagree is that ending a human life is simple health care. Once the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine wall it becomes a unique, new, human life. That's science.

The State of Texas has been in the news lately because of a new law preventing abortion of a fetus after a heartbeat is detected. The reasoning is that once a heartbeat is detected the fetus is a human life. Somewhat surprisingly, the Supreme Court upheld the law 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John Roberts (not surprisingly) siding with the liberal justices against it.

I heard yesterday that Attorney General Merrick Garland is going to file suit saying the Texas law "violates woman's Constitutional rights." That should be interesting since as far as I know there is nothing in the Constitution giving women the right to have an abortion. Roe vs Wade was a Supreme Court decision but that doesn't make it a Constitutional right. It makes it a rule of law that can be challenged and/or changed by another ruling, not that I believe that will happen.

The interesting thing about "my body, my choice" is that many of the same people who scream that phrase about abortion don't feel the same way about mandatory vaccinations and masks. They want to force both on people to "prevent loss of life." And it's absolute hypocrisy. Forcing people to get a foreign substance injected into their bodies on the chance other people may not get sick (we already know it's not fool proof) is nothing but hypocrisy. And for those who believe a viable fetus is not a human life - I feel sorry for you.

"My body, my choice" only if it concerns something you agree with? Sorry, wrong.

If "my body, my choice" is going to be your rule it needs to apply all the way around. Want to get vaccinated? Do it. Want to wear a mask? Go for it. But if you believe in "my body, my choice" for yourself then give others that same option without condemnation. Otherwise you're being completely unreasonable.