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Terrorized? Hell, no!
by Steven Green, the "VodkaPundit." EFL"The purpose of terrorism," wrote the 20th Centuryâs first terrorist, "is terror." By that measure, our enemies have failed. And failed badly. Are you, two years later, still unable to comprehend? Be honest now. Unless youâve dived head first into the bloodiest part of the heart of darkness, then, no, you donât understand. You and I here in the West, or even that vast majority in the Muslim world, can never really know what makes an educated person do what those 19 men did two Septembers ago. But are you terrorized? Do you live in constant, unalterable fear? For me, the answer is: "Hell, no!" Dread is for the weak; defiance is, perhaps, the American virtue. Iâm saddened for 10,000 children who lost a mommy or a daddy that day. Iâm angered every time I see a picture of the altered New York skyline. I know a wearied irritation that this instinctively isolationist nation has been dragged into yet another world war. There is real, physical pain in my belly when that sound comes back, unbidden. You know the sound I mean â the thunk-splat of meat hitting pavement, of living people who chose to jump rather than be burned alive. Americans are defiant, even regarding the manner of death chosen for us by others. Now go on and let yourself relive that day, just a little. Remember the first reports that "a small plane" had crashed into the World Trade Center. Firemen who didnât just run into a burning building, they ran up into collapsing skyscrapers. Grounded planes. The stock exchanges, closed. The doubt, the fear, the "what will they do next?" And the realization: Oh my God, weâre at war. War in the Old Testament sense, when the barbarians came to rape and to slaughter. Relive, too, the days after. The wall of inkjet "have you seen. . .?" photos. You, me, your friends, crying over obituaries in The New York Times. Widows grieving at Ground Zero, who breathed â breathed in â their husbandsâ ashes. Remember, too, our just vengeance. Our president told us, "I hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." And they do hear us, in Iraq and in Afghanistan. They hear us, not because we used our weapons to murder their civilians, but to bring down their tyrants. From our loss, we gave them hope. The loss felt in Baghdad and Kabul is that of Sisyphus without his stone. The sound they hear is the ring of freedom. And they hear us, even if only a whisper, in Syria, in Iran, and â yes â they hear us in Saudi Arabia, too. Maybe defiance will prove as irresistible an export as Leviâs, Coke, and MTV. Two years later, Iâm still angry â and I hope you are, too. But are we terrorized? Hell, no. Just one point of disagreement with this fine essay: I do understand, I think as well as possible for a middle-aged guy in Ohio who doesnât have a security clearance, why our enemies hate us. Theyâre not shy about expressing themselves, and I see no reason not to take them at their word. However, "understand" is not synonymous with "accept," "forgive," or "validate." The more I understand our enemies, the more eagerly I anticipate the day when the last terror master is strangled with the entrails of the last Wahabbi imam. Delenda est Carthago. Letâs roll. Posted by: Mike 2003-09-11 |
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