Nine-Eleven Two-Thousand-One
The terrorist attack on America of Nine Eleven Two-Thousand-One sent shock waves around the world and purged the American spirit of its lapse into complacency, cynicism, and self-indulgence.
Americans cheered their heroes; reached out with love and concern to family members, friends, and neighbors; and knelt in churches, temples, and mosques where they prayed for strength and guidance. Hearts swelled with patriotism, and tear-filled eyes fixed proudly on the Stars and Stripes.
America’s president sounded the call to arms, made ready the nation’s might, and led America and her allies in a war against the terrorist threat.
To those who believe America weak because she is given to excess and uncertainty when openly engaged in debate, argument, protest, civil strife, and self-deprecation, let them consider America’s history. For more than two hundred years, America has used these engagements to perfect a way of life that provides self-government, free enterprise, equal opportunity, and justice for all, and it is from this reality in the making that America draws her strength.
To those who believe America lacks the resolve to protect and defend that splendid endeavor, let them beware. America has never failed to muster the will, might, and resiliency necessary to ensure that the American way of life will not perish from the earth, no matter the consequences, no matter the cost, no matter the hardship she must endure, and no matter how long it takes.
Copyright © 2001 Frank Zahn. Published in Alive with Thoughts and Feelings: Prose and Other Poetry, Vancouver Books (Hardcover Edition) 2009; Perceptions: Prose and Other Poetry, Grove 49 eBooks (Kindle Edition) 2116; Alive!: Short Prose and Poetry, Vancouver Books (Kindle Edition) 2019.