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As we see Americans speaking with a single voice, and as we see
a spirit of unity many thought impossible, we must resolve to
complete our mourning, to rebuild our buildings, and to defend
our country against enemies, both foreign and domestic. As time
goes by, the painful edge of our emotion will lessen, but our
will to fight terrorism must not lessen. The steel and concrete
of our buildings can be broken, but our spirit, our will to find
and punish terrorists, can never be broken.
Not long after the disaster I was listening to a call-in talk
radio show. A former Marine phoned in to give his opinion. He
related how he had walked out of the Chosin Reservoir in that
terrible Korean winter. He talked about many of the incomprehensible
miseries he had endured. At the end of his call he emphatically
declared: "I am now drawing Social Security, but if the Department
of Defense needs Social Security money to get those bastards,
I don’t care if I ever get another cent."
That is the kind of resolve we must maintain.
After the fires of the rage have subsided, after the urge to
blow something up has eased, then we must go about our business.
For me, that transition happened at church on September 16. The
minister said few words, but the short scriptures, and the old-time
hymns, followed by "America The Beautiful," allowed
me to change my attitude from anger to determined resolve--a resolve
to do what I can, to get back to my life, to end the disruption.
None of us will ever forget where we were or what we were doing
when we heard about the atrocities that occurred in New York,
in Washington, and over the sky in Pennsylvania. Nor should we
forget them. They are now a part of us forever.
Let us maintain our unity, our resolve, and our spirit.
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