Monday, September 14, 2009

9/11 as a National Day of Service?

Another 9/11 has come and gone. This year was different. Oh sure, grieving relatives still read a list of names of the victims and politicians still lamented the "tragedy". But something else happened to surface this 9/11: A "National Day of Service". Allegedly, everybody is supposed to take the day off from work and go clean up a park somewhere, then pose for the photo op and feel good about ourselves.

The National day of Service is just another salvo from the hand-wringing squishy left who are uncomfortable with actual war but just fine with “the moral equivalent of war”. That’s why 9/11 is endlessly referred to as a “tragedy” and a “crime” but never what it truly is: an act of war instigated by an irregular faction, no different from a pirate nation, against us. You see, It's okay to have a "war on cancer" but not okay to have a war with people who want to kill you. We should just talk instead. Talk is very therapeutic, doncha' know. We'll all feel better about ourselves and isn't that the goal?

When the self-absorbed, navel-gazing guilt mongers step up to propose another national day or service – or worse, a museum that highlights all the suffering in the world – I turn my ears off. I refuse to participate in penance for crimes I didn’t commit. National therapy isn’t my bag.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t compassion fatigue. I just don’t want to deal with fools who see every situation as a teachable moment, where they get to lecture me about what wrong with me and why I should me more like them. Own an SUV? Then you need a teachable moment.

The sanctimonious do-gooders that the baby boomers have become are nauseating. That's why I don't listen to them.

No, 9/11 should be about remembering what happened downtown and being pissed off. National Day of Service? Nah. Just remember to lock and load.