Quoting:

" DO NOT FORGET "



I sat in a movie theater watching "Schindler's List," asked myself, "Why didn't the Jews fight back?"


Now I know why.


I sat in a movie theater, watching "Pearl Harbor" and asked myself, "Why weren't we prepared?"


Now I know why.


Civilized people cannot fathom, much less predict, the
actions of evil people.


On September 11, dozens of capable airplane passengers allowed themselves to be overpowered by a handful of poorly armed terrorists because they did not comprehend the depth of hatred that motivated their captors.


On September 11, thousands of innocent people were
murdered because too many Americans naively reject the reality that some nations are dedicated to the dominance of others. Many political pundits, pacifists and media personnel want us to forget the carnage. They say we must focus on the bravery of the rescuers and ignore the cowardice of the killers. They implore us to understand the motivation of the perpetrators. Major television stations have announced they will assist the healing process by not replaying devastating footage of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers.


I will not be manipulated.


I will not pretend to understand.


I will not forget.


I will not forget the liberal media who abused freedom of the press to kick our country when it was vulnerable and hurting.


I will not forget that CBS anchor Dan Rather preceded
President Bush's address to the nation with the snide
remark, "No matter how you feel about him, he is still our
president."


I will not forget that ABC TV anchor Peter Jennings
questioned President Bush's motives for not returning
immediately to Washington, DC and commented, "We're all pretty skeptical and cynical about Washington."


And I will not forget that ABC's Mark Halperin warned if
reporters weren't informed of every little detail of this
war, they aren't "likely -- nor should they be expected --
to show deference."


I will not isolate myself from my fellow Americans by
pretending an attack on the USS Cole in Yemen was not an attack on the United States of America.


I will not forget the Clinton administration equipped Islamic terrorists and their supporters with the world's most sophisticated telecommunications equipment and encryption technology, thereby compromising America's ability to trace terrorist radio, cell phone, land lines, faxes and modem communications.


I will not be appeased with pointless, quick retaliatory
strikes like those perfected by the previous
administration.


I will not be comforted by "feel-good, do nothing"
regulations like the silly "Have your bags been under your control?" question at the airport.


I will not be influenced by so called,"antiwar
demonstrators" who exploit the right of expression to
chant anti-American obscenities.


I will not forget the moral victory handed the North
Vietnamese by American war protesters who reviled and spat upon the returning soldiers, airmen, sailors and
Marines.


I will not be softened by the wishful thinking of pacifists
who chose reassurance over reality.


I will embrace the wise words of Prime Minister Tony Blair who told Labor Party conference, "They have no moral inhibition on the slaughter of the innocent. If they could have murdered not 7,000 but 70,000, does anyone doubt they would have done so and rejoiced in it?


There is no compromise possible with such people, no
meeting of minds, no point of understanding with such
terror. Just a choice: defeat it or be defeated by it. And
defeat it we must!"


I will force myself to:


-hear the weeping
-feel the helplessness
-imagine the terror
-sense the panic
-smell the burning flesh
- experience the loss
- remember the hatred.


I sat in a movie theater, watching "Private Ryan" and asked myself, "Where did they find the courage?"


Now I know.


We have no choice. Living without liberty is not living.


-- Ed Evans, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.)
Not as lean, Not as mean, But still a Marine.


Keep this going until every living American has read it and memorized it so we don't make the same mistake again.

End Quote

I have read this before, and I agree with a lot of his comments. One thing I'm not going to forget is the failure of the CIA, an organization that was set up to make sure another Pearl Harbor did not occure.

Quoting:
To be perfectly honest, in the words of Slim Shady "I Just Don't Give A F*ck!"  Am so sick of all this patriotism.  Oh Canada!  LOL!  A lot of yous might hate me after this, but oh well.
End Quote

Quoting:
...surely it's better to bury history than to keep bringing it up.

End Quote

That, without question, the most idiotic thing I have read on these boards, and believe me, I have read some pretty idiotic things here! The sad part is that you probably don't even realize what is wrong with what you said!  ::)

Quoting:
To be perfectly honest, in the words of Slim Shady "I Just Don't Give A F*ck!"  Am so sick of all this patriotism.  Oh Canada!  LOL!  A lot of yous might hate me after this, but oh well.
End Quote

Hey pal, the border is open. Why don't you just move on up there?

Quoting:
As a Brit, I don't care that much either. It hasn't affected me much since it happened, and I don't understand why it's been in the news every damn week since it happened. Sure, it was atrocious, but surely it's better to bury history than to keep bringing it up.

End Quote

Quoting:
Wow I can't belive it's been a year already it seems like it happened just a few days ago. The time goes bye fast
End Quote

Me too Alicia.One year goes by and boom!Here comes the anniversary.I hope they do these September 11th's every year for the next 20 years.That would be fantastic. :) -howard-

Quoting:


That, without question, the most idiotic thing I have read on these boards, and believe me, I have read some pretty idiotic things here! The sad part is that you probably don't even realize what is wrong with what you said!  ::)
End Quote

Quoting:


Me too Alicia.One year goes by and boom!Here comes the anniversary.I hope they do these September 11th's every year for the next 20 years.That would be fantastic. :) -howard-
End Quote

Well, as long as they don't go insane with it and turn it into a holiday so you can get the day off from work or school.  I don't want to ever see a commericial for used cars celebrating 9-11 for the next 20 years.  Or a Wal-Mart ad telling me "everything's half off" because of September 11th.  
 

Quoting:
Sure, it was atrocious, but surely it's better to bury history than to keep bringing it up.
End Quote

Well I can't say I agree with this statement. Australians still commemorate ANZAC Day, and that happed in 1915. The Japanese will never forget Hiroshima. These are events that change national identities and their legacies are engraved forever upon them. The impact of the 9/11 attacks were felt around the world. An ethnic language presenter from the radio station I work at was in the second plane to hit the WTC -- he was an Armenian-born Australian citizen. The world should always unite in mourning and horror at such atrocities, but at the same time we should also remember that 40,000 people die every day from poverty-related causes such as disease and starvation. That's ten times as many as died on 9/11/01, 365 days a year. It's just a shame we can't declare war on poverty the same way we can on terrorism.