Sept. 11, 2001 is “a date which will live in infamy,” as President Franklin D. Roosevelt described the similarly horrific attack on Pearl Harbor. Terrorists have penetrated our borders, attacked our innocent citizens and frozen not only New York City and Washington, D.C., but also air travel and financial markets throughout the world. This is not only an attack on the United States of America; this is an attack on decency, on democracy, on capitalism, on personal sovereignty, on free markets and on civilization as a single entity.
Throughout the days and weeks to come, the rescue efforts will be in full force as the firefighters, police officers and other volunteers attempt to find those buried in the rubble. This is certainly the most deadly terrorist attack, and it will be weeks, possibly months, before we know for sure the exact number of lives lost.
There have not yet been any confirmed claims of responsibility for the attacks, although the presumption is that Osama bin Laden must be involved. Bin Laden has not claimed responsibility in recent attacks by his organization. In addition, intercepted cellular phone calls have connected the people speaking in the conversations to those in his association. The Taliban government of Afghanistan has stated that the fugitive Saudi billionaire, being harbored within its borders, could not have been responsible for the attacks. Al-Qaida, bin Laden’s Afghanistan-based organization, has repeatedly threatened to strike the United States on its own soil. This group develops autonomous cells capable of operating without central command, cooperates with other militant groups throughout the world and has created a hierarchy that is yet to be understood.
With the leadership of our president, who is displaying humility and strength in God, we will be able to overcome the evil that has beset itself upon our wonderful nation. We are a nation whose fathers came to a new land to search for freedom – freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of life, freedom of beliefs.
It is this freedom that others who do not understand it hate, but it is this freedom that will allow us to prevail. Many countries, such as Afghanistan, Sudan and others, do not allow their people to experience the same freedoms that we experience. In this new war, as the president rallies the support of nations across the world, let there be an absolute absence of middle ground. Countries must be with us, be our friends, be our supporters and be our aides or they must be our enemies.
Nations harboring our enemies must assist us, extradite our enemies and support our efforts or become the enemy themselves. We must not allow this solidarity, this spirit of unity and this display of cooperation to fade as the terrible events grow further from us in time. This is a new war; this new war will take the energies of everyone for generations to come, and failure to do so will only create other terrible situations for the citizens of freedom-loving countries.
We have been sitting comfortably on the sidelines for much too long. We have allowed debates of liberals versus conservatives to thwart our properly preparing for, preventing and attacking the evil that exists in this world. The intricacies of legislation have prevented us from accomplishing the ultimate goal of keeping America free from terrorism.
The stories of heroism and horror will continue in the days, weeks, months and even years to come. The people who are uniting at ground zero to assist the injured, with the hope and prayer that more survivors may be pulled out of the rubble, are giving of themselves in the dangerous atmosphere to save lives and bring moms, dads and children home to their families.
Only our country possesses such a wonderful and special history, and with a unified government, a unified people and a world unified against terrorism, with God’s help, we will show evil that it will not be tolerated. We will show evil that freedom rings. We will show evil that while it may hide in the shadows for a short time, it will be forced out of those shadows and it will be destroyed.
Regardless of the god one may worship or of the name one may give to his or her god, and irrespective of the specific religion one may claim as his or her own or of the building in which one may honor and worship this god(s), this is a time when everyone must be unified under the umbrella of God to rely upon His strength to assist our nation and its leaders in waging the war against evil.
Although this may seem to be a simplified explanation, this is a war of good versus evil in the world. This is a war that has been continuing since the dawn of time, and each generation sees this war in a different light. Our generation is experiencing this war in the form of a new war, one that has no face, and is without a specific battlefield. The face of this enemy is broad, and the battlefields may be wide spread. Such a war requires unanimity and purpose and these can only be achieved with Divine assistance.
May the events of the last few days encourage everyone to allow the flag to fly high, to show patriotism and love for our country, and to demonstrate to the world that we have only become more unified. May our leaders possess the steadfast strength to conquer terrorism. May our country’s leaders rally the world to punish swiftly, deliberately, and decisively those who will choose to be our enemies in this new time of war.
May the leaders and people of our nation and of the world look to a higher power for strength and guidance in the war to fight evil that would seek to destroy the good in the world. May we unite against the evil, fight the war to bring victory to the good in the world, and may this persistence continue with Divine assistance until we have stamped out all of the evil throughout the world.
Sara Marie Eichenberger is a student in International Relations and European Military History Eichenberger can be reached for comments at [email protected].
