It has been twenty-five years since the cowardly 9/11 attack on the United States by death-worshipping jihadists. As terrible as the day was, for a brief shining moment, the country came together. Sadly, that lasted only a year or so. Today, we are more divided than ever over fundamental questions. Radical Islam is growing in the United States and Europe. They have made alliances with the socialist/Marxist Left that threaten the survival of Western civilization. Some even say we “deserved” 9/11.
For many years, I have been writing a daily report for supporters of my work in Washington, DC, through American Values. I want to share with you some excerpts from that report about the week of 9/11/2001. Perhaps I will bring back memories for you, too. It is important to help our children and grandchildren understand 9/11 and the war we are still in.
September 11, 2001
Hours after the attack I wrote this:
“A DARK DAY
“My cell phone rang as I sat in my car just yards from the Pentagon. I was on my way into Washington for a Capitol Hill press conference on Sudan when my office called to tell me about the horrifying news from New York. “Traffic had come to nearly a stand still when the roar of a low flying jet liner caused all of us to look up. Within seconds my car, and those around me, were rocked by the force of the explosion as another hijacked plane crashed into the nerve center of the American military.
“It is hard to put into words the emotions I was feeling at that moment. As I veered onto the Memorial Bridge I could see the smoke and flames billowing out of the Pentagon. I have friends and neighbors who work there—people who have dedicated their lives to the defense of the nation. Many, if not most, had served and survived on foreign battle fields only to die here at the heart of America’s government and power.
“By the time I reached Capitol Hill a mass evacuation was underway and thousands of congressional employees were streaming out of the main office buildings. I was able to reach my daughter Elyse, who works for Congressman Frank Wolf, and confirm she was O.K. I called home to let the rest of our family know that while I had been close to the Pentagon explosion I was in one piece.”
September 12, 2001
“The Day After
“Smoke from the Pentagon attack still hung in the air outside my office early this morning. Military police manned many Washington, DC, intersections, bracing for the possibility of other attacks today. Meanwhile, the political, military and economic establishment of our country tried to move the nation back to some normalcy.
“There has been poignancy everywhere. U.S. congressmen spontaneously broke into singing ‘God Bless America’ on the steps of the Capitol. A lone, young construction worker stood on Interstate 395, just minutes after the attack, waving a large American flag to the cars streaming out of Washington. Four thousand people packed into Washington Cathedral, praying for God’s mercy. And in New York, dozens of shoes were strewn in the ruble—shoes of fathers, mothers, and children who had no idea upon rising yesterday of what fate awaited them.”
I added this thought on illegal immigration:
“We cannot continue our open border policies. We are overwhelming our own security forces who cannot keep track of all those entering the country with potential terrorist links. Congress heard testimony 18 months ago showing that the entire spectrum of Middle Eastern and Islamic terrorist groups now operate on U.S. soil, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Al-Qaeda, the organization of Osama bin Laden. Our political leadership for over a decade has been so fearful of offending one ethnic group or another that we have put all Americans at risk. It is time to start asking—before every policy decision—‘What is best for America?’”
September 13, 2001
“National Day Of Prayer
“The White House has just announced that the President [Bush] has designated Friday, September 14th as a national day of prayer and remembrance. Americans are being asked to go to their places of worship to pray for our country and for all the families that have experienced such terrible losses this week. I would only add that we should also pray for moral renewal and revival in our country and that our leaders and people would rediscover that only a virtuous people will ultimately remain free. (By the way, should we assume that schools will allow children to pray on Friday?)”
September 14, 2001
“Here On The Front Lines
“Washington, DC, still feels like we are already at war. Rolling bomb threats hit one building after another yesterday afternoon. Within a half hour, the whole city was in complete gridlock. Friends reported taking 90 minutes or more to go three city blocks. The bomb threats were so well timed and placed it seemed that an organized effort had been made to bring the city to its knees …
“Our Heart And Soul
“While the country prays today, I am sorry to report to you that the left-wing of American politics is still at work. The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued a blistering statement this morning opposing the president’s call to prayer and suggested that the terrorist attack was the ultimate ‘faith-based initiative’ …
“For the past three decades, there has been a cultural war raging in America, waged by the Left against any public expression of our reliance upon God. The textbooks and many teachers, from whom our future generations learn, have embraced cultural and moral relativism. Our children are taught that America believes one thing and that other countries believe in something else and no one can say which is right or wrong.
“I was repeatedly struck during the presidential campaign by how frequently I encountered children as young as eight or nine years old who were thoroughly indoctrinated with trendy anti-Americanism. The questions I got in many classrooms reflected a basic hostility to the idea that America is a great nation and blessed by God. And always, a smiling teacher would be urging the kids on.”
That is just a sample of what I wrote twenty-five years ago. The battle still rages against enemies “foreign and domestic.” God be with us.
