In addition to the original article, A Nation in Shock, I would like to post the
following impassioned letter from an Air Force captain whom it is my great
pleasure to know. Although in a little more colorful language than I ever
heard her use, I found her letter to be very well written and it pretty much
conveys the general sentiment of those in the defense community. Incidentally,
she was in the Pentagon at the time of the attack.
Hi, Mike.
I've thought of writing to you a few times
since coming back from Ottawa and am now finally getting around to it. I
checked out your site- it's pretty cool. I was hoping to find some of your past
articles, however. Do you not keep them archived online? (I couldn't find
them.) (Yes, they are located in the Leftovers
section.)
Last week after having been struck by the
airliner at the pentagon and seeing all the horror in NY and PA I think I was
just processing all this crap on a cognitive level. After all, something like
this was bound to happen, it was just a matter of when. I think I was just
focused on the tasks at hand and consuming lots of info and trying to analyze
the situation as we all were and still are and not really thinking about any of
this shit on an emotional level. Which is good, for a time, b/c when you need
to get a job done there's no room for getting caught up in thought about the
truer meaning of things. A couple of times I almost broke down when listening
to some of the human-interest stories of the cell phone calls or listening to
someone talk about the life of a lost loved one. But I didn't allow myself to
succumb to that b/c there wasn't time.
On Sunday I went to Catholic Mass for the
first time in a LONG while and I thought that I had dealt with it. I cried and
prayed. When I've gone running, I've gotten a rush thinking about our great
nation fucking some people up who were responsible for all this shit. It pissed
me off to hear of some people around the world laughing, making jokes, and
expressing joy about the atrocity that has struck our great country and
innocent people. But, to a certain extent, I could perceive them and those that
were responsible for the attacks and all other attacks that were and are
planned as the enemy and as people who were diametrically opposed to us and
that that was just a fact of life and part of what we have to deal with living
on this earth and as being a part of the best country in the world.
But what really fucking upset me hit me
today. To hear of the firefighters in Miami Dade County who refused to ride on
their fire truck until the American flag was removed because they said it was
offensive; to hear of the school superintendent in NJ who ordered signs with
the slogan "God Bless America" to be replaced with "Stand Up for
America" b/c he was trying to be fair to those who refer to God as Allah;
or the librarians at a FL university who were told not to wear "I'm Proud
to be an American" stickers to work b/c they might offend some of the 200
foreign students attending school there; or to hear of a Los Angeles educator
who tells the LA Times that he has no intention of flying the flag b/c it
symbolizes repression, or another Venice (LA) activist say, "Haven't
people learned anything in the last 30 years? Haven't they been watching what
America had been doing around the world? Instead of feeling humility and
compassion, it seems like the flag is being flown just to arrogantly continue
what we've been doing;" or to hear of students in schools whining about
feeling the peer pressure to have to stand up and say the Pledge of Allegiance
when it is their right not to do so; and lots of other stories that are just
un-American.
True, Americans can be arrogant and as
most countries, we pursue what is in our own national interest around the
world. But what about all that we have given? The United States gave billions
of dollars to many countries (Germany, Japan, and some to the U.K. and Italy)
to help those recover from war. We still maintain the peace in Eastern Europe
while our own homeland is being attacked. We risk American lives to bring
humanitarian aid to those countries less fortunate than us. We run to help
countries that suffer from natural disasters, like the earthquake in Istanbul,
but what country offered help this past year when many of our cities received
the wrath of tornadoes? As Gordon Sinclair so aptly pointed out, The Marshall
Plan and the Truman Doctrine pumped billions of dollars into discouraged
countries, and now their current newspapers publish stories about the decadent,
warmongering Americans. What about all the times Americans have run to the aid
of others in need? How many times have other nations rushed to our aid? I
realize that we live in a free country and that our free speech is part of what
makes us so great. I would never want to curtail that. People come to the
United States from other countries BECAUSE this is the best place in the world.
And, I believe that those people should still be allowed to maintain their
beliefs and religions (as long as they don't infringe on the civil liberties of
others), and that finding the dividing line between these tow ideals can be
tricky. But, I also believe that any person who wishes to become an American
citizen must willingly pledge allegiance to our flag and what it represents.
And I don't even know what to do about those folks who were born here as
American citizens who don't appreciate, or respect, our flag and national
defense. The one good thing I was hoping to come out of all this shit was that
it would wake some Americans up to the fact that freedom isn't free, and to
realize that just because they might be doing okay financially that that
doesn't mean that they shouldn't give a shit about what our international
policies are and about what our place is in the world. Some Americans couldn't
care less about the integrity of our Commander in Chief or about whether or not
he would produce sound defense policies and be capable of leading us into and
out of battle victoriously. But what many don't realize is that were it not for
our great defense and our great government, they would not have the financial
freedoms that they have.
Yes, our military and our government have tremendous
flaws. But, you know what- they are still the best government and military in
the world. And without them and without all the past suffering, selfless
dedication, and lives lost, we would not be here today. I don't always agree
with our foreign policies or with some decisions that have been made by our
leaders, but to not rally around the foundations that have given us all the
great freedoms that we have is wrong. And I say to anyone who cannot appreciate
and respect our national defense and the flag, you can get the fuck out. If you
don't realize what these truly symbolize and you don't understand after last
week's events what our defense has given Americans over the years (freedom),
and if you are that opposed to American ideals that you can't fucking stand up
and say the Pledge of Allegiance, then you can leave. Get the fuck out.
I came home tonight, had a beer, and fell
asleep on my sofa trying to read while crying and feeling angry. I don't know
that we (The United States) will truly be able to resolve this problem and
eradicate terrorism or hold accountable those responsible for the events last
week. It's going to be challenging since it will be difficult to find their
center of gravity and destroy their will and means to resist since they find
support from a number of different sources and since they are willing to die
for their cause. And I am concerned about the shape the world will take as we
accept support from former would-be opposition states and am concerned about
our choices and decisions in sifting through intelligence support that may be
pledged by these states. These things are disconcerting to me. And I don't
really know what the "right" answer is to a lot of this. And, I am
sure that our leaders will not always make the right choice and that we might
make mistakes. But, I trust that Colin Powell and Dick Cheney, General Shelton
and soon General Myers, and others in our administration, will allow our
government and defense to make the best choices that anyone else would be
capable of in this complex situation. And, I know that I AM PROUD TO BE AN
AMERICAN and am willing to do what it takes to protect and keep our great
country as it is: free.
I wish you some peace tonight, Mike.
Tanya Schnorr