Almost every year since I began this website I have taken time on September 11 to remember what happened ten years ago this morning, and this year will be no different. Obviously the memory remains as we have now gone through a decade of history since that fateful late summer day – a sunny day in New York and over much of the East Coast and Midwest as I recall.
I have shared my story on many occasions, and have heard a number of others describe what they experienced when a regular, humdrum Tuesday morning suddenly became anything but. It’s my generation’s answer to Pearl Harbor Day, although as the so-called “greatest generation” slowly passes away into history fewer are around to describe their emotions when a midday Sunday (since we are several hours ahead of Hawaii timewise) turned into “a date that will live in infamy.”
And as time goes on it’s more and more apparent that many of us have retreated to what can be called a “9/10 lifestyle,” forgetting that we’re in the midst of a Long War against the forces of radical Islam. There’s no doubt in my mind that if those same groups believed they could get away with a plot to murder thousands or even millions of Americans with one surprise attack, they would take the opportunity. Granted, since the advent of the Atomic Age we have had that sort of threat hanging over our collective heads but this situation is different for in the eyes of believers martyrdom is not something to be avoided – the theory of mutually assured destruction which kept the Cold War with the Soviet Union cold – but a desired result. The nineteen who hijacked four planes on that fateful day were sure they’d never see September 12 but believed they would spend eternity in their version of paradise because they were in Allah’s service.