25 years later: We remember
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Food for Thought
Judge of Probate Richard Dean
Last Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the wicked, immoral attacks on America on September 11, 2001. Very appropriately, remembrance ceremonies were held around the country. However, and appropriately, the major ceremonies were held in New York, New York; Shanksville, Pennsylvania; and at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
At these locations on September 11, 2001, almost 3,000 people were killed and many more injured. These do not include the many related deaths that occurred over the years from injuries sustained because of the attacks.
I appreciated the article Mamie Ellis submitted to “The Coosa County News” remembering Jimmie Ira Holley, a Coosa County native who lost his life that day. He had served his country in the military, was serving his country in the Pentagon, and had faced death multiple times – and survived.
I am sure death was the farthest thing from Jimmie’s mind that morning. On that day he wasn’t in a hostile environment or facing dangerous events. He was, as were the others, in his office simply going about his daily routine. Doing his job. His life was taken not because he was a warrior or posed a threat, but taken simply because he was an American.
I appreciate the people who contact Jackie and me every September 11th to let us know they are thinking of us. As for me, that day I was about five miles from the Pentagon. I was in no danger.
However, my wife, Jackie, was there, working in the Pentagon. She experienced it. She survived it, and she led her troops to safety.
In the smoldering aftermath, she and thousands of others who survived the attack were back in their Pentagon offices early the next morning taking care of business as they did every day. I am sure emotions were high, as well as having concerns for personal safety. However, they did what Americans have always done. They stepped back to the plate with resolve, determination, and American defiance.
The attacks that day were horrific. Many people tried to explain how we got to that point and why this terrible event happened.
Some blamed the attacks on America and its policies. Some blamed it on American businesses that had operated abroad, especially in the middle eastern countries. Some blamed it on failures in the administration. Some blamed it on failures in intelligence gathering and sharing of intelligence information. Some just blamed it on America because we are “America.”
I believe the latter group is correct. Not because we deserved this attack or because we were inherently evil. We are exactly the opposite of that. These terrorists attacked us just because we are America, and by being America we were/are a threat to their theological ideology.
The truth is that Islamic fundamentalists attacked us because they hate America and everything for which America stands. They may espouse political reasons such as trade, historical actions, colonization, politics, or a plethora of other reasons; however, it boils down to differences in religious beliefs. These extremists see America as the “Great Satan” that should be destroyed simply because we are a nation founded on differing religious beliefs.
In 1875, because of the pirating actions and attacks on American shipping along the North African Coast (also called the Barbary Coast), Thomas Jefferson (ambassador to France) and John Adams (ambassador to Britain) were sent as envoys to London to meet with Abdul Rahman Adja (Tripoli’s ambassador to Britain).
When Jefferson and Adams asked Adja what right the Barbary Coast states had to attack American ships and to take their crews and passengers as slaves, Adja responded, “it was written in the Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority [Islam] were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon whoever they could find and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Mussulman (Muslim) who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.”
That philosophy remains today. In November 1979, after the taking of American hostages in Tehran, Ruhollah Mostafavi Khomeini (would become Ayatollah/Supreme Leader of Iran), condemned the United States and called us the Great Satan.
As Khomeini solidified his power, he reversed many of the positions he had taken publicly regarding his supposed beliefs of democratic rule by the people. He threw off his veil and showed his true colors. He established a strong Islamic Fundamentalist government and put forth America as the evil empire.
The Ayatollah Khomeini then declared that the laws of society should be made up only of the laws of Sharia [Islamic] and no other. And since Islamic law was the only real law, only those with a deep knowledge of Islam could hold office.
To ensure total control and adherence to Islamic law, he implemented the policy that only theological, clerical rule was appropriate in order to prevent any deviation of Islam or Sharia law and to ensure the destruction of non-Muslim foreign powers.
He also began efforts to make Iran the center and leader of the Islamic Revolution. He sought out extremists in the surrounding nation states and worked to increase the extremists’ societal reach. It worked.
In America, we have the freedom to worship, or to not worship, as we see fit. This violates everything in which theological extremists believe. They see our culture, our religions, our values, and our actions a violation of their deeply held fanatical beliefs.
They also see us as a threat to their very existence. If we prevail, their power is limited. If we prevail, they lose. If we prevail, then their beliefs must be flawed. If their beliefs are flawed, then their deities must not be what they hold them up to be. They cannot afford for that possibility to exist.
America is a truly diverse nation. We are a melting pot of many diverse cultures, religions, values, traditions, and heritages. All these things used to blend us into one cohesive nation.
My fear is that the religious and cultural zealots who hate us combined with the “me first” attitude might destroy our nation. I believe they are straining our seams and threatening to rip us apart.
We all need to take the time to do our research and understand history. The things I have mentioned in this column are well documented. We have grown into a society where it is not politically correct to bring up facts that dispute or call out any group for any reason.
Every large group has people who operate on the extremes. Some groups work to diminish the impact of those extremists on the group. Some groups do not. When a group does not control the impact of their radicals, the group usually gets taken over, and its members are left wondering what the heck happened.
Let’s not allow America be one of those groups. Until next month; pray for our nation and for cooler weather, be safe, and God Bless.
