Homeland defense? The truth is, homeland defense starts and ends with us, you and me. For the most part the big systems our government needs are in place — the National Guard, Coast Guard, state and local police, FBI, CIA, U.S. Customs, state port authorities and our military forces. Now it's true, all of these diverse federal and state agencies need to do some fine-tuning. I believe that fine-tuning is well under way. If we pay close attention and hold our government's feet to the fire, it will be done well.
What is needed the most is for us to do our job. The only war we ever lost was not lost by our troops on the ground; we lost no battles in Vietnam. It was lost by our government and in the hearts and minds of the people of the United States.
With that said, what was attacked on Sept. 11 was the best about our country. It was the very essence of what makes us great: Thousands of everyday Americans going about winning their daily bread, living our country's promise of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." They are our martyrs, people of every religion, race, economic class, political persuasion — everyday Americans. They were us, just plain people, going about their day.
Our first heroes in this war were firemen, policemen, airline passengers and fellow employees taking that extra step to save another. People who didn't allow the worry about self to stop them from what needed to be done. Many of them did it at a terrible cost to themselves and in the process set an example for us all. They showed us the best about our country and us. Now it's our turn. The question is what should we do?
Really, it's quite simple and maybe something many of us have not thought about in a long while. First and most important, it's making sure all our citizens get their rights under our Constitution. Start participating in our community, stop all the whining and asking someone else to fix it. Neither federal nor state governments can make us safe from terrorists. They can only set up systems. We have to make the systems work and if they don't, see that they are fixed. It starts in our homes, our schools and our places of worship. Know your neighborhood; maybe join Neighborhood Watch. Volunteer at one of the hundreds of community-based organizations and help make our communities even stronger than they are. As in every war we have ever fought, our troops will do their job, and they will do it well. The only way we can lose is if we just go back to believing the government will do it. That's what got us in this mess in the first place.
The simple truth is the government had bad systems on Sept. 11. The people checking passengers and baggage at airports did their job, within that system. Every terrorist that boarded a plane that day got on following the rules. The rules are the system and our government made the bad rules. If the government had enforced its immigration rules, most of the terrorists would not have been in our country. The only way government can have systems it's not enforcing or that have bad rules is when we are not paying attention. So now that a few terrorists have gotten our attention, let's get back to basics. In the United States we make the government, we need to pay attention to what we've made.
I will close with a suggested reading list: The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Federalist Papers. I think it would help us all to better understand the base our country stands on. Just be a good citizen, no terrorist can beat that.
jcROAT :dive:
What is needed the most is for us to do our job. The only war we ever lost was not lost by our troops on the ground; we lost no battles in Vietnam. It was lost by our government and in the hearts and minds of the people of the United States.
With that said, what was attacked on Sept. 11 was the best about our country. It was the very essence of what makes us great: Thousands of everyday Americans going about winning their daily bread, living our country's promise of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." They are our martyrs, people of every religion, race, economic class, political persuasion — everyday Americans. They were us, just plain people, going about their day.
Our first heroes in this war were firemen, policemen, airline passengers and fellow employees taking that extra step to save another. People who didn't allow the worry about self to stop them from what needed to be done. Many of them did it at a terrible cost to themselves and in the process set an example for us all. They showed us the best about our country and us. Now it's our turn. The question is what should we do?
Really, it's quite simple and maybe something many of us have not thought about in a long while. First and most important, it's making sure all our citizens get their rights under our Constitution. Start participating in our community, stop all the whining and asking someone else to fix it. Neither federal nor state governments can make us safe from terrorists. They can only set up systems. We have to make the systems work and if they don't, see that they are fixed. It starts in our homes, our schools and our places of worship. Know your neighborhood; maybe join Neighborhood Watch. Volunteer at one of the hundreds of community-based organizations and help make our communities even stronger than they are. As in every war we have ever fought, our troops will do their job, and they will do it well. The only way we can lose is if we just go back to believing the government will do it. That's what got us in this mess in the first place.
The simple truth is the government had bad systems on Sept. 11. The people checking passengers and baggage at airports did their job, within that system. Every terrorist that boarded a plane that day got on following the rules. The rules are the system and our government made the bad rules. If the government had enforced its immigration rules, most of the terrorists would not have been in our country. The only way government can have systems it's not enforcing or that have bad rules is when we are not paying attention. So now that a few terrorists have gotten our attention, let's get back to basics. In the United States we make the government, we need to pay attention to what we've made.
I will close with a suggested reading list: The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Federalist Papers. I think it would help us all to better understand the base our country stands on. Just be a good citizen, no terrorist can beat that.
jcROAT :dive:
