United We Stand

from our neighborhood's
20th Commemoration of 9/11

This past Saturday I attended a neighborhood gathering to commemorate the 20^th anniversary since 9/11. It’s particularly poignant this year because of the resounding defeat Biden and team have thrown us into in Afghanistan.

We said we would never forget. And we haven’t. But the occupier of the White House has forgotten, and has shamed us all.

There was a purpose for going into Afghanistan. The terrorist-supporting Taliban government had aided and abetted Osama bin Laden and terrorist organization to recruit, train, and hide out, so they could wreak havoc on the US and the world. We had a just cause. And we fulfilled it. That mission was clear.

As happens in such cases, the bad guys hide out in caves and over the border, where they could get safe haven, only to return once the forces withdraw. That meant, if we were to prevent them from retaking power, we had to stay and help the local people stand up against them.

The least hint of giving up that support has led to increased power for the Taliban. The mission hadn’t actually morphed, but the way it was framed had. Supposedly we were no longer protecting our interests by tamping down terrorism overseas—rather than facing the terrorists on our own shores; now we were “nation building.” Some of that is true. We had to build up a government in Afghanistan to prevent a vacuum that the Taliban would return to fill. And after 20 years, and a media that wouldn’t frame it the way our soldiers understood their mission, the US in general no longer had an appetite for maintaining our presence there, even though they've been maintaining the peace much longer in Korea and Germany.

President Trump keyed into that anti-nation-building sentiment. And I'm not sure that was wrong. But his willingness—along with the willingness of his opponents—to leave was heard loudly, as a rallying cry, by our enemies. And his predecessors blithely pulled out without any normal consideration for how to do that without causing wreck and ruin.

The world is messy. It’s particularly messy in recent times. More so in recent months.

Todd Beamer, on flight 93
image from here

At the event on Saturday, we had a color guard, from a nearby Scout troop, present the colors and lead us in the pledges (in Texas we do the US pledge, and then the Texas pledge; I don’t know if any other state has one of their own). I talked with the scoutmaster afterward. It had been my husband who recruited them to do it. His wasn’t the only troop to offer, but his was the first. He was surprised that every troop within miles wasn’t jumping at the chance. He made sure his boys understood how important this event was. None of them had been born when it happened, so to them it’s like marking the Pearl Harbor attack for most of the rest of us. It’s not ancient history, but it’s before our time. So these young people need to be taught, and shown, what this day has meant.

There were a great many things marking this day. One was the transcript of the 911 call from Todd Beamer, a passenger on flight 93 over Pennsylvania, who acted heroically that day. Several friends shared it. This shows who Americans really are, and who we honor.

At our little neighborhood gathering, I think we did the quintessential American thing. We got together outside, on a beautiful sunny day in the shade of trees, honored the flag, honored the fallen, and then talked about what we can do together to make our community better. We had a number of school board candidates there, where we could get to know them better. I’ll have more on that another day. But this is the essence of self-government, to get involved at the local level. It gives me some hope that our efforts to maintain freedom may be fruitful.

We had a speech about the day. It’s short, and was seen only by our gathering, so I thought I’d share it here. It’s by our freshman state representative, Lacey Hull, who says basically what needed to be said, ending with this:

On September 11th, we lost so much. It was a tragedy that struck the heart of our nation. But it reminded us that we have a heart. That e pluribus unum isn’t just a motto; it’s one of our fundamental values, that out of many, we are one—one nation under God. May God bless America and each and every American. And may we never forget.

 

She’s right. I remember the unity we felt, as Americans—and along with friends of America around the world—in the days after 9/11. Criticism of America, already rampant even two decades ago, held its peace for at least a few months while we mourned and held one another up. I miss that unity.

As we watch, in horror, at the administration-caused catastrophe still ongoing in Afghanistan, including for American citizens, and for many who totally supported us these past decades, it’s hard to be hopeful about a future of freedom, prosperity, and civilization. We have leaders who want tyranny, poverty, and savagery, as difficult as it is to comprehend that. 

I know in the end that goodness wins; I’ve read the ending of the book. But I don’t know what we all need to go through between now and that ending.

Sometimes I write in order to organize my thoughts, to know exactly what it is I think. Other times I have to let ideas simmer for a while. I’m thinking about how to be joyful during catastrophic times. One idea is to keep a focus on what to be thankful for, and we still have a lot of that. Another focus is how much God is with us during difficult times.

Back in earlier days, when I had small children, and I was struggling with health issues that made daily life difficult, I remember praying that I could take joy in my children. The health issues continued for a very long time, but the joy in my children filled me. I took delight in the blessing of having those children and watching them grow.

So I know that, if I pray now for joy in these sad times, when our way of life is hanging by a thread, it’s a worthy thing to ask for and will be granted. But I don’t yet know what the answer will look like.

In the meantime, may those of us who love liberty and our constitutional republic hold together in unity, and invite all to unite with us in loving freedom, prosperity, and civilization.