Same date, same day of the week, 17 years later.
The annual observance of the 9/11 terror attack will stir emotions all day long. People will be remembering where they were “when the world stopped turning, that September day,” as Alan Jackson’s sorrowful, soul-searching ballad asks. The names of the victims will be recited, perhaps many people will light candles, others will share a quiet moment.
Lots of people are participating in a “moments of silence” exercise by not posting on Facebook during the time of the attack. Others are watching YouTube videos—and there are lots of them available—of live newscasts and amateur video recordings of the Twin Towers or the Pentagon.
Some have forgotten the quiet cool displayed by then-President George W. Bush, seated in a classroom of young students, when word was whispered into his ear. He didn’t get dramatic, didn’t alarm or frighten those youngsters; people forget he was married to a former second grade school teacher. Never scare the children.
Perhaps just to remind the world about 9/11, in 2012 on that date Ansar al-Sharia terrorists murdered four Americans including the ambassador in Benghazi, Libya. Killed were Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty. The administration incredulously tried to blame the whole thing on outrage over a stupid video, and former Congressman Jason Chaffetz today took ex-president Barack Obama to task for attempting to “re-write history” for remarks made last Friday that alluded to “wild conspiracy theories – like those surrounding Benghazi.” Chaffetz writes:
“What a reprehensible way to frame an event that killed four Americans while they waited for rescue and protection they deserved from people Barack Obama never sent. Of course, you only heard about Obama’s characterization of Benghazi if you pay attention to conservative media. By and large the mainstream press excluded references to Benghazi from their reporting of the speech.”—Former Congressman Jason Chaffetz
The 9/11 terrorist attack united Americans much like Dec. 7, 1941 did for a previous generation, what former news anchor Tom Brokaw called “The Greatest Generation.”
Time has passed, and old – and some not so old – animosities have returned. The left hates the right. The right reciprocates. And in the middle of it all, we often lose perspective.
But we don’t lose the memories of that day. And that’s as it should be.
