Remembering The Heroes
The father of Todd Beamer, David, has written and outstanding piece in today's Opinion Journal. I have cited the entire thing below. I suggest our readers read it. I will hold my comments until the end.
The calendar says it's April 25, 2006. At noon, my wife, Peggy, and I are walking around Battery Park--near the Tribeca area--in New York. It is our first time. The flowers are blooming; kids are fishing; people boarding the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Kids are laughing and noisy. The sun is shining. The vendors are hawking T-shirts, pretzels and some "designer" wares. And just up the street there is a hole in the skyline and in the ground.
In the park, there is a memorial with walls standing tall. Walls filled with so many names of those who gave their all in the Atlantic in World War II. How fitting that the names are here to honor those who gave their lives to enable this fun, this laughter--on this sunny day. The sights and sounds of freedom continue.
Fast forward--it is 10:30 p.m., April 25. We have just seen a movie premiere at the fifth annual Tribeca Film Festival. A film festival that has done so much to energize and revitalize the city, its people and especially the area that has that hole in the skyline and in the ground. This year the movie that had its worldwide premiere at the festival is titled "United 93." It is about the day when the hole in the skyline of New York was made--the day when a hole was made in the side of the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.--the day when a hole was made in a quiet mountain meadow in Pennsylvania. The day that our nation was attacked; the day when the war came home--Sept. 11, 2001. The day our son Todd boarded United 93.
Paul Greengrass and Universal set out to tell the story of United Flight 93 on that terrible day in our nation's history. They set about the task of telling this story with a genuine intent to get it right--the actions of those on board and honor their memory. Their extensive research included reaching out to all the families who had lost loved ones on United Flight 93 as the first casualties of this war. And Paul and his team got it right.
There are those who question the timing of this project and the painful memories it evokes. Clearly, the film portrays the reality of the attack on our homeland and its terrible consequences. Often we attend movies to escape reality and fantasize a bit. In this case and at this time, it is appropriate to get a dose of reality about this war and the real enemy we face. It is not too soon for this story to be told, seen and heard. But it is too soon for us to become complacent. It is too soon for us to think of this war in only national terms. We need to be mindful that this enemy, who made those holes in our landscape and caused the deaths of some 3,000 of our fellow free people, has a vision to personally kill or convert each and every one of us. This film reminds us that this war is personal. This enemy is on a fanatical mission to take away our lives and liberty--the liberty that has been secured for us by those whose names are on those walls in Battery Park and so many other walls and stones throughout this nation. This enemy seeks to take away the free will that our Creator has endowed in us. Patrick Henry got it right some 231 years ago. Living without liberty is not living at all.
The passengers and crew of United 93 had the blessed opportunity to understand the nature of the attack and to launch a counterattack against the enemy. This was our first successful counterattack in our homeland in this new global war--World War III.
This film further reminds us of the nature of the enemy we face. An enemy who will stop at nothing to achieve world domination and force a life devoid of freedom upon all. Their methods are inhumane and their targets are the innocent and unsuspecting. We call this conflict the "War on Terror." This film is a wake-up call. And although we abhor terrorism as a tactic, we are at war with a real enemy and it is personal.
There are those who would hope to escape the pain of war. Can't we just live and let live and pretend every thing is OK? Let's discuss, negotiate, reason together. The film accurately shows an enemy who will stop at nothing in a quest for control. This enemy does not seek our resources, our land or our materials, but rather to alter our very way of life.
I encourage my fellow Americans and free people everywhere to see "United 93."
Be reminded of our very real enemy. Be inspired by a true story of heroic actions taken by ordinary people with victorious consequences. Be thankful for each precious day of life with a loved one and make the most of it. Resolve to take the right action in the situations of life, whatever they may be. Resolve to give thanks and support to those men, women, leaders and commanders who to this day (1,687 days since Sept. 11, 2001) continue the counterattacks on our enemy and in so doing keep us safe and our freedoms intact.
May the taste of freedom for people of the Middle East hasten victory. The enemy we face does not have the word "surrender" in their dictionary. We must not have the word "retreat" in ours. We surely want our troops home as soon as possible. That said, they cannot come home in retreat. They must come home victoriously. Pray for them.
Well said. Bravo. I do pray for our troops in harm's way. I have a stake in this war. My brother fights in this war. And of course I want him home. But, like Mr. Beamer, I also agree he cannot come home in retreat. That only emboldens our enemy, and invites further violence on our nation. I listened to an interview that Dennis Prager had yesterday with Richard Miniter. According to Mr. Miniter, late in 2004 a terrorist attack was thwarted in the country. It involved several men with explosives going to shopping malls and movie theaters over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and detonating themselves.
Their targets were not to be soldiers, or administration officials. It would have been innocent men, women, and children. And when I say innocent, I mean it. Ward Churchill can get stuffed. It would have stopped our economy, or at least severely damaged it. It would have achieved their goal of spreading terror across the nation. And it would have brought a lot of problems to the Muslims in this nation; almost ensuring an unwarranted persecution of people based solely on their appearances or religion. That is a mistake, and one that could have proven costly.
But the attack never occurred. Quick work through coalition intelligence services and the Department of Homeland Security nabbed the would-be suicide bombers. But the point of this is simple: Our enemy has not stopped its fight against us, so why are so many people wanting us to stop ours? These people want us gone. Wiped from the earth, or on our knees before them. As much as President Ahmadinejad of Iran wants Israel wiped off the map, so our enemy wishes the same for us.
But the new movie "United 93," which we will see again, and again (the proceeds from the first weekend will go for the Flight 93 memorial that the families are fighting PC-minded designers over in Shanksville, Pennsylvania). It needs to be seen. People need this reminder. Days after the 9/11 attacks, TV news outlets started not showing the footage of the attacks. They deemed the images to either be too sorrowful or too inflammatory. In doing so, they took away the one reminder that infused this nation with a resolve tougher than anything our enemy could throw at us. As Darryl Worley's hit song "Have You Forgotten?" states:
You took all the footage off my T.V.
Said it's too disturbin for you and me
It'll just breed anger is what the experts say
If it was up to me I'd show it everyday
So would I. This nation forgot all too quickly what 9/11 meant for us. And the talking heads on the Left did their best to make sure that we did forget, or that the public became apathetic to the idea. In short, they are accomplishing their goals of shifting the morale in this war. The morale of a nation is important, and too many people have forgotten--whether blatantly, as the Left has, or absent-mindedly as typical Americans with busy lives do. We can never forget that day. Not until this war is over, and our enemy is defeated.
"United 93" is going to remind the nation of why we fight. It is going to be a landslide of hell unleashed on the Left because they will have nowhere to run and hide until the tide recedes. They are going to attack the movie. Expect to see the arguments that this is propaganda. We are expecting precisely that. And there will be people who just tear the movie apart, questioning the validity of the story. The validity along cannot be in question. It is taken from the victim's families and people directly involved with the events of that morning. This is not "propaganda." It is history, and it's time is long overdue.
Mr. Beamer is proud of his son, and proud of this nation. He is just one of countless families that have seen this film, and have basically put their seal of approval on it. It tells a story of your average, everyday Americans who went to work that morning, and before the day was out became heroes. A close friend of mine once said that some people when you squeeze them, they flounder. Others fly. On 9/11, the heroes of Flight 93 flew. They knew the stakes of the day, and knew that no one was coming to help them. They and they alone were responsible for their futures.
They made a choice, and that choice saved countless lives on the ground. That is not an act to be admonished or overlooked. It is to be recognized, remembered, and praised. This Friday, we will be doing that in the movie theater.
The Bunny ;)
ADDENDUM:
Head over to Hot Air, the new site where Michelle Malkin gives her Vents. Today, she has one on this movie, and the response from it. It is an excellent Vent for her, and a sound one. Especially when she brings up the media's response to this movie. She also points out that the "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" of France panned the movie, proclaiming it to be "racist."
Cole Smithey of RottenTomatoes.com offers this piece of pap in response to "United 93." In short, this man needs help, and it is all psychological. If I have nothing else to do later, I might post up his review, and eviscerate him personally.
The father of Todd Beamer, David, has written and outstanding piece in today's Opinion Journal. I have cited the entire thing below. I suggest our readers read it. I will hold my comments until the end.
The calendar says it's April 25, 2006. At noon, my wife, Peggy, and I are walking around Battery Park--near the Tribeca area--in New York. It is our first time. The flowers are blooming; kids are fishing; people boarding the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Kids are laughing and noisy. The sun is shining. The vendors are hawking T-shirts, pretzels and some "designer" wares. And just up the street there is a hole in the skyline and in the ground.
In the park, there is a memorial with walls standing tall. Walls filled with so many names of those who gave their all in the Atlantic in World War II. How fitting that the names are here to honor those who gave their lives to enable this fun, this laughter--on this sunny day. The sights and sounds of freedom continue.
Fast forward--it is 10:30 p.m., April 25. We have just seen a movie premiere at the fifth annual Tribeca Film Festival. A film festival that has done so much to energize and revitalize the city, its people and especially the area that has that hole in the skyline and in the ground. This year the movie that had its worldwide premiere at the festival is titled "United 93." It is about the day when the hole in the skyline of New York was made--the day when a hole was made in the side of the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.--the day when a hole was made in a quiet mountain meadow in Pennsylvania. The day that our nation was attacked; the day when the war came home--Sept. 11, 2001. The day our son Todd boarded United 93.
Paul Greengrass and Universal set out to tell the story of United Flight 93 on that terrible day in our nation's history. They set about the task of telling this story with a genuine intent to get it right--the actions of those on board and honor their memory. Their extensive research included reaching out to all the families who had lost loved ones on United Flight 93 as the first casualties of this war. And Paul and his team got it right.
There are those who question the timing of this project and the painful memories it evokes. Clearly, the film portrays the reality of the attack on our homeland and its terrible consequences. Often we attend movies to escape reality and fantasize a bit. In this case and at this time, it is appropriate to get a dose of reality about this war and the real enemy we face. It is not too soon for this story to be told, seen and heard. But it is too soon for us to become complacent. It is too soon for us to think of this war in only national terms. We need to be mindful that this enemy, who made those holes in our landscape and caused the deaths of some 3,000 of our fellow free people, has a vision to personally kill or convert each and every one of us. This film reminds us that this war is personal. This enemy is on a fanatical mission to take away our lives and liberty--the liberty that has been secured for us by those whose names are on those walls in Battery Park and so many other walls and stones throughout this nation. This enemy seeks to take away the free will that our Creator has endowed in us. Patrick Henry got it right some 231 years ago. Living without liberty is not living at all.
The passengers and crew of United 93 had the blessed opportunity to understand the nature of the attack and to launch a counterattack against the enemy. This was our first successful counterattack in our homeland in this new global war--World War III.
This film further reminds us of the nature of the enemy we face. An enemy who will stop at nothing to achieve world domination and force a life devoid of freedom upon all. Their methods are inhumane and their targets are the innocent and unsuspecting. We call this conflict the "War on Terror." This film is a wake-up call. And although we abhor terrorism as a tactic, we are at war with a real enemy and it is personal.
There are those who would hope to escape the pain of war. Can't we just live and let live and pretend every thing is OK? Let's discuss, negotiate, reason together. The film accurately shows an enemy who will stop at nothing in a quest for control. This enemy does not seek our resources, our land or our materials, but rather to alter our very way of life.
I encourage my fellow Americans and free people everywhere to see "United 93."
Be reminded of our very real enemy. Be inspired by a true story of heroic actions taken by ordinary people with victorious consequences. Be thankful for each precious day of life with a loved one and make the most of it. Resolve to take the right action in the situations of life, whatever they may be. Resolve to give thanks and support to those men, women, leaders and commanders who to this day (1,687 days since Sept. 11, 2001) continue the counterattacks on our enemy and in so doing keep us safe and our freedoms intact.
May the taste of freedom for people of the Middle East hasten victory. The enemy we face does not have the word "surrender" in their dictionary. We must not have the word "retreat" in ours. We surely want our troops home as soon as possible. That said, they cannot come home in retreat. They must come home victoriously. Pray for them.
Well said. Bravo. I do pray for our troops in harm's way. I have a stake in this war. My brother fights in this war. And of course I want him home. But, like Mr. Beamer, I also agree he cannot come home in retreat. That only emboldens our enemy, and invites further violence on our nation. I listened to an interview that Dennis Prager had yesterday with Richard Miniter. According to Mr. Miniter, late in 2004 a terrorist attack was thwarted in the country. It involved several men with explosives going to shopping malls and movie theaters over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and detonating themselves.
Their targets were not to be soldiers, or administration officials. It would have been innocent men, women, and children. And when I say innocent, I mean it. Ward Churchill can get stuffed. It would have stopped our economy, or at least severely damaged it. It would have achieved their goal of spreading terror across the nation. And it would have brought a lot of problems to the Muslims in this nation; almost ensuring an unwarranted persecution of people based solely on their appearances or religion. That is a mistake, and one that could have proven costly.
But the attack never occurred. Quick work through coalition intelligence services and the Department of Homeland Security nabbed the would-be suicide bombers. But the point of this is simple: Our enemy has not stopped its fight against us, so why are so many people wanting us to stop ours? These people want us gone. Wiped from the earth, or on our knees before them. As much as President Ahmadinejad of Iran wants Israel wiped off the map, so our enemy wishes the same for us.
But the new movie "United 93," which we will see again, and again (the proceeds from the first weekend will go for the Flight 93 memorial that the families are fighting PC-minded designers over in Shanksville, Pennsylvania). It needs to be seen. People need this reminder. Days after the 9/11 attacks, TV news outlets started not showing the footage of the attacks. They deemed the images to either be too sorrowful or too inflammatory. In doing so, they took away the one reminder that infused this nation with a resolve tougher than anything our enemy could throw at us. As Darryl Worley's hit song "Have You Forgotten?" states:
You took all the footage off my T.V.
Said it's too disturbin for you and me
It'll just breed anger is what the experts say
If it was up to me I'd show it everyday
So would I. This nation forgot all too quickly what 9/11 meant for us. And the talking heads on the Left did their best to make sure that we did forget, or that the public became apathetic to the idea. In short, they are accomplishing their goals of shifting the morale in this war. The morale of a nation is important, and too many people have forgotten--whether blatantly, as the Left has, or absent-mindedly as typical Americans with busy lives do. We can never forget that day. Not until this war is over, and our enemy is defeated.
"United 93" is going to remind the nation of why we fight. It is going to be a landslide of hell unleashed on the Left because they will have nowhere to run and hide until the tide recedes. They are going to attack the movie. Expect to see the arguments that this is propaganda. We are expecting precisely that. And there will be people who just tear the movie apart, questioning the validity of the story. The validity along cannot be in question. It is taken from the victim's families and people directly involved with the events of that morning. This is not "propaganda." It is history, and it's time is long overdue.
Mr. Beamer is proud of his son, and proud of this nation. He is just one of countless families that have seen this film, and have basically put their seal of approval on it. It tells a story of your average, everyday Americans who went to work that morning, and before the day was out became heroes. A close friend of mine once said that some people when you squeeze them, they flounder. Others fly. On 9/11, the heroes of Flight 93 flew. They knew the stakes of the day, and knew that no one was coming to help them. They and they alone were responsible for their futures.
They made a choice, and that choice saved countless lives on the ground. That is not an act to be admonished or overlooked. It is to be recognized, remembered, and praised. This Friday, we will be doing that in the movie theater.
The Bunny ;)
ADDENDUM:
Head over to Hot Air, the new site where Michelle Malkin gives her Vents. Today, she has one on this movie, and the response from it. It is an excellent Vent for her, and a sound one. Especially when she brings up the media's response to this movie. She also points out that the "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" of France panned the movie, proclaiming it to be "racist."
Cole Smithey of RottenTomatoes.com offers this piece of pap in response to "United 93." In short, this man needs help, and it is all psychological. If I have nothing else to do later, I might post up his review, and eviscerate him personally.
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 1:32 PM
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