M.Goose Says “Remember and Don’t Forget”

Here in the United States and around the world, we stop today and remember the horror that came out of the skies on that beautiful sunny blue-sky day eleven years ago. We lost loved ones and we lost our innocence AGAIN on that day. It seems that every fifty or sixty years, America loses her innocence again. We become accustomed to our sedate world presence and forget that “the bad guys” are still out there.

It was said after Japan struck Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 that it would be “a date which will live in infamy’ — that has proved true. Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani said in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on 9-11, “The attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit. Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified.” The mayor was correct and to a degree, we have remained strong and unified.

The horrific death toll on that day was 3,000 lives. That number includes the nineteen terrorists who also fell victim to the madness of al Qaida propaganda.

Eleven years later, my children ask me, “Why did the terrorists attack us?” I have had to search my soul and also the internet to find a suitable answer for their precious ears.

Of course, the first easy answer is that this group of Islamic fundamentalists have a deep hatred for America because we are living out the freedom declared by our founding fathers in our Constitution.

We could also say that they hate us for having a presence in Saudi Arabia, the homeland of Osama bin Laden and his followers. They saw our Middle East involvement as greed for oil.

There’s also the answer that any country allied with Israel risks the hatred of the Arab nations.

Some analysts come right out and say that al Qaida pointed chose its targets (the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and potentially the halls of Congress) because of America’s free enterprise system, our military might and our democratic government.

Osama bin Laden himself gave many reasons for his attacks. The brave elite Navy seal team, DEVGRU, put an end to the taunting video releases of bin Laden and his discourses, but his zealous followers continue their long-enduring campaign to bring down the United States of America.

To date, the War on Terror has taken the lives of 6,280 Americans in combat zones Afghanistan and Iraq. That number, combined with the death toll of 9-11 itself, is ghastly. Nearly 10,000 lives lost in the madness of a war which drags on and on…

Pray for peace. Remember the victims and their families. Don’t forget that the War is still raging and Americans are still dying in this fight against terrorism and this fight for freedom.

But here’s the punchline: Do something unselfish for your community today! Or tomorrow! Make this a Day of Good Deeds to help America stay strong on the neighborhood level. Bake some cookies and bring them to the firefighters. Help your neighbor with some yardwork. Volunteer at a local food bank, or a homeless shelter. Pick up some litter in the ditch.

Fly your American flags.

Remember and don’t forget.

Cookies for the firefighters and the family.

Love from Mother Goose