On this day, September 11th, nine years ago, the most merciful, accepting, and prosperous nation in the history of the world was savagely attacked by a group of individuals whose only goal was to create pain, panic, and fear. Words fail me, I am not able to adequately describe the infinite stupidity of those evil perpetrators who murdered thousands and scarred many more. They were a collection of small men, men who, except for their horrific deeds, the world would have certainly forgotten. And that would have been well, for not one of them was in any way worthy of remembrance. They will go down in history simply as a gang of useful idiots, idiots whose blind violence brought about their own demise and the demise of their terrorist compatriots.
On this day, let us all remember and honor the victims of Al Qaeda, those innocents who were never at war with anyone. Let us fill our hearts with love for our neighbors and our nation on this day. The world's most despicable elements conspired on 9/11 to break our structures; they could never hope to break our spirit. The American spirit is one of dignity, of resiliency, of strength in the face of great tribulation. We reached out our hands to the world, and certain elements of that world spit in our face in response. I would ask everyone who pauses to read this to take a moment to honor our murdered brothers and sisters. For my own part, I will continue to pray for the souls of those who were so callously denied life and for all those that loved them, that their pain might be lifted from them.
We must continue, we must be great in order to restore greatness. Tomorrow, on September 12, many of us will sit with our families and watch the Sunday football game, many of us will attend services at our nation's churches. Tomorrow, for most Americans, will be as every other Sunday has been. But, for few, those same familiar rituals will only be reminders of the bitterness that has haunted them for these nine years. If you know someone affected by the 9/11 tragedy, take this opportunity to thank them for their courage and renew your support for them. Through binding together as as Americans we will recover, we will restore our economy and suppress our enemies around the world.
Remember the police, the firefighters, and military personnel who make our nation safe. Remember those whose lives are dedicated to our nation's greatness, those who wake every morning to put on a uniform, pick up a rifle, and stand a post. Show them love, show them appreciation, remember always their sacrifices.
On 9/11, we were attacked. We did not know why, we only knew that we did not deserve it. Soon after, we vowed to bring the cowards who were responsible to justice, we have succeeded often in doing so but the work is not finished. I can think of no more fitting tribute to those who lost their lives than to punish their killers and then to declare the victory of freedom and peace over the philosophy of hate espoused by the followers of radical Islam. We will go on, we will defeat them, we will end terrorism, we will secure our nation, we will regain our strength, we will love those who were left behind, we will never forget.
