Patriot Day Dismissal

Searching for words this morning to describe my emotions. That our nation still has soldiers in the field chasing the ever elusive "hearts and minds" eight years after our generation's Pearl Harbor saddens and sickens the Colonel. Our men and women in uniform have performed magnificently--there is no historical parallel to their professionalism and effectiveness. On the other hand, our feckless national political leadership has failed us miserably in the fight against terrorism for an entire generation.

Even if you count Japanese, Italian, and German aggression in the late 1930's as the beginning of the Second World War, our fumbling strategic fight against our current enemy has lasted at least three times as long--and there is no satisfactory end in sight.

Eight years ago, a handful of brave Americans on Flight 93 gave us all the example of sacrificial action required to win wars. They gave everything they had and made a difference. We did not follow their lead. Instead, we sent our sons and daughters to fight a limited war with limited resources, while we continued to live our lives here at home like it was 1946. There was NO sacrifice at home. NONE. Our myopic, self-centered lives were not affected in any way at all.

We spent weeks this summer mooning over the death of a celebrity pedophile whose real contribution to our society will someday certainly be judged as deleterious at best. Some of us may spend a few minutes today remembering the common Americans who stepped from the soft shoes of anonymity into the painful boots of sacrificial heroism. But, if we do, we will be in the minority.

I know what the feeling is this morning--Disgust.