Remembering 9/11

Every September 11 that comes will always be easy for me to instantly recall how many years have gone by since the 9/11, as my wedding anniversary is September 8, 2001. And even if I didn't have the type of memory to instantly say, "it has been eight years since 9/11" (which I do happen to have), I certainly have the good sense to always remember, "Honey, we have been married for eight years now" ... So, as long as I remember the one I will never have a problem remembering the other. And as we remember the darkest day in our nation's history today, I can honestly say the same thing today about 9/11 that I said to my wife just days ago when we looked back on the years of our marriage: "These eight years have flown by."There has never been an event in American history that we must work more diligently at than this one in terms of not letting the time merely go by, and therefore letting our memory of that day blur. In fact, I do not believe that we should ever, ever, ever have a single day go by in which we do not recall the events of that day, and honor those who passed away. I believe the Islamo-Facists declared war on America long before 9/11, but 9/11 became the day that we no longer have an excuse to sit in ignorant cluelessness about the nature of that war. That cluelessness is not merely dangerous, it is morally abhorent, and sadly, it is all too common.We dishonor those who died on 9/11 repeatedly in this country. We do so in a number of ways. It is dishonorable to the memory of 9/11 to refer to "terrorists" as anything other than "terrorists". It is dishonorable to call Islamic fascists anything other than what they are (though I do accept certain other words, if you know what I mean). It is unacceptable to ban the word "jihad" from college campuses. I do not care if people want to live their lives in a state of utter obliviousness, unable to put a coherent thought together, handcuffed to a view of reality that is more becoming for a little clown than it is a grown-up or thought leader. But when that dim-witted and morally ambiguous understanding of the world maneuvers itself into various pillars of society (the academy, the media, the Congress, etc.), I think someone needs to put an end to the clownish shenanigans.9/11, no doubt, must be remembered for the horror that it was. But it also must be remembered for how much worse it could have been. We fail to understand that to our own peril. I consider it a true sign of grace that the death count stayed as low as it did. I am consistently humbled that a more coordinated attack into a higher quantity of cities did not take place. Of course, Flight 93 alone represented hundreds if not thousands of additional casualties that did not take place due to the heroic actions of the passengers. The use of chemical warfare has not yet been employed. The guerilla tactics these monsters utilize in our ally-state of Israel have not yet been employed here. No bombs have yet been placed in the trash can at a shopping mall, or trucks full of explosives left abandoned in a busy tunnel. The brutal carnage of 9/11 has not been repeated, but we can be sure that this is not for a lack of trying on their part, and we can be equally sure that next time, the target is higher than 2,800 lives.My prayer is that a renewed vigilance will come in the DNA of the American people. My prayer is that we will elect leaders who do not desire to negotiate with terrorists, or sworn enemies of our country. My prayer is that we will not belittle the seriousness of what took place on 9/11, nor under-appreciate the risks that exist. My deep hope is that we will be smarter than our enemies, and resolute in our desire to smite them out of existence.I pray that 9/11 does not have to repeat itself in one of our hometowns for us to understand the war in which we are presently engaged. Victory will not be cheap. This is a war of ideas, a war of terrorist aggression, and a clash of civilizations. May we never forget. I know my family never will.