How many times today will you read that in a subject line?
There are a lot of tributes out today, some beautiful, some heart wrenching, some that are just too graphic for me. I've taken a journey through the internet of as much documentation as I could stand, because every day of my life I remember. The open wound of 9/11 on my country is deep and painful. I'm sharing a few of the tributes, memorials and sentiments that are a part of memorializing not only our day of terror but those following days where we stood together as AMERICANS. Non-partisian, non-denominational, hearts wide open and raw. Bold & Brave.
http://www.frugalsites.net/911/attack/
Memory in photography.
Survivor Stories
Our all-volunteer service is made up of Americans of all races, creeds, and economic backgrounds. These soldiers are on the front lines of this battle, and there are others in the fight as well. We must continue to give our utmost support to the United States military and those that support their efforts. In light of this, I have added my name to a letter sent to President Obama urging him to remain committed to prosecuting the War on Terror in Afghanistan. Never have so few defended the liberty of so many. We must continue to support their mission because they will continue to fight for us.
President Reagan ended his first inaugural with this story:
Under one such marker lies a young man-Martin Treptow-who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire. We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, "My Pledge," he had written these words: "America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone." The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make. It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together, with God's help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us. And, after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans. God bless you, and thank you.
As we look back to that tragic day eight years ago we take pride in the fact that we came together as a nation in the days, months and years that followed. We rose to the challenge that fateful day and we still can. And why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans.
I thank all our servicemen and women, in and out of uniform, for keeping us safe over the last eight years in the face of enormous odds.
Please thank a veteran today. They certainly do not look for those thanks, but they have more than earned it.
- Sarah Palin
And believe it or not, there are those who want us to forget 9/11 ever happened:Honoring September 11th: They Wants Us to Forget
by Mark Tapson @ Big Hollywood“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” – William Faulkner
“We will write our own future, and the future will be what we want it to be.”
In a quiet and seemingly innocuous gesture, President Obama has designated 9/11 as “The National Day of Service and Remembrance.” Personally, I liked the ring of “Patriot Day,” and what does “service and remembrance” mean, precisely ? The idea is to get Americans to “engage in meaningful service to create change…in four key areas”: education, health, energy/environment and community renewal. None of these seems to have anything to do with honoring 9/11, but that seems to be the point: in the Huffington Post, Muslim-American playwright Wajahat Ali wrote, “In the US, we are trying to move away from focusing on 9/11 as a day of horror, and instead make it a day to recommit ourselves to national service.” An excellent Spectator article provides a blunter translation: “Nihilistic liberals are planning to drain 9/11 of all meaning.” Why? ”They think it needs to be taken back from the right.”
Read the entire article here.
The response that shares my personal sentiments is from IMAO:
By Any Other Name
by Harvey
In December, 2001, President Bush approved Public Law 107-89 declaring 9/11 to be “Patriot Day”.
In April, 2009, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. In that Act, September 11th was officially declared “The National Day of Service and Remembrance.”
Screw you.
We know what day it is.
I search myself constantly for how I can serve my country right here on my homeland. When I go to a town hall meeting, when my husband and I make a stand together at an opportunity to face our elected officials, when I share a responsibility in print to help keep We The People informed, when I can make any small contribution to support those who are willing to go to the front lines to fight and represent the viewpoints I believe in, I am fighting for my country with the best of my God given ability.
But its when I join the Patriots of the Tea Parties, forming one body, one voice, is when I feel the pride of being an American. Putting the memories of today, 9/11, in perspective with where I'll be tomorrow helps me bare the memory of the day the terrorists tried to take down America's spirit only to find out that when you hurt us, you bring out the very best of AMERICA.
Jim Durbin from 24th State said it best this morning in regard to the Tea Parties:
Every person you read about is risking their jobs, their careers, and their families to give back to this great nation. Each one of them has been attacked by the press, by left wing rabble, and even by crazed people who write, call, and even show up to physically intimidate and sometimes attack us for simply speaking our minds. These people I call friends, they are patriots and heroes, and every person who has come out to the Tea Party can claim that same title. This country is not run by politicians. It is run by us, and after decades of slumber, the public is finally awake.
I'll be going to Quincy tomorrow, for the 9/12 rally. It is not the same as serving overseas, and it's not the same as the work that Dana and Bill and Gina and all the rest have put into these events. But it's my part. If you are going, I want to meet you. Pull me aside and introduce yourself. If you can't go, read the accounts on the blogs and look at the pictures and video and leave comments and tell your friends and make a vow that you will get involved. The Tea Party is not an organization - it's a movement. It's not anti-Obama, or anti-Democrat, or even anti-politician. It's not anti-tax or anti-healthcare. It's pro-America. We are not fighting for our freedoms - we are exercising them. Exercise yours. Get involved. Democrat or Republican or Independent or other - if you're not involved, you won't be prepared when you're needed.
The Pentagon 9/11/01
