While much of Monday’s news is properly focused on the devastation of Hurricane Irma on Florida and the Caribbean, it is a somber anniversary of the terrorist attack that shook America and the western world.
Thousands lost their lives and millions were traumatized to one degree or another. It was this generation’s Pearl Harbor.
Singer/songwriter Alan Jackson’s tribute asked, “Where were you when the world stopped turning?” Buried in the lyrics was this question: “Did you go out and buy you a gun?” A lot of people did, as more did in the wake of San Bernardino and Orlando, not to mention Paris and Nice.
Singer/songwriter Toby Keith warned worldwide terrorists that “it’s gonna be hell…brought to you courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.”
Singer/songwriter Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” – written in the 1980s, years before the 9/11 terrorist outrage – soared to new heights, and whenever and wherever it was performed there may not have been a dry eye in the audience.
Later, singer/songwriter Darryl Worley asked, “Have you forgotten?” Apparently some people have. Others, especially New Yorkers, have not. President Donald Trump is a New Yorker, and according to The Hill, he and First Lady Melania led a moment of silence at the White House in observance of the day.
Now, the Daily Beast is reporting about one of Osama bin Laden’s sons who is allegedly poised to unify terrorists worldwide.
This was one of those events, like the eruption of Mount St. Helens, which compels people to remember where they were. It might be equally appropriate to figure out where we are now.
It has become a pain in the neck to fly aboard a commercial airline. Security at many public venues has been increased, although honest citizens seem to be the only ones who obey the “Gun-Free Zone” signs and decals.
More than 16.3 million people are licensed to carry concealed, according to the most recent estimate from the Crime Prevention Research Center, founded by author and researcher John Lott.
Criminals still commit crimes while other people remain convinced that this will change if we disarm law-abiding citizens.
The world didn’t really stop turning on 9/11 so many years ago. But it did become, for a while anyway, a bit more reflective, and somewhat more sober.
The world is still occasionally reminded that the hateful lunacy that inspired the 9/11 attack is still alive today.
