23 Years Ago Today: Never Forget

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

Where were you, and what were you doing on the morning of September 11, 2001?

There are only two days in my 78 years that I remember in detail: November 22, 1963, and September 11, 2001.

I was a senior in high school in 1963. I was walking between third and fourth period classes when I learned that President John F. Kennedy had been murdered in Dallas, Texas.

Sitting in my fourth period classroom, there was nothing but silence throughout the school. We were eventually sent home.

It was a Tuesday and I was out for my morning run in the BLM land just north of my home. As I was returning home, my wife was waving frantically in our front yard.

My mother was in hospice care in Idaho, and that was my first thought. When I reached home, my wife just said, “you have to see this.” The top floors of the first tower of the World Trade Center were burning. I couldn’t believe my own eyes. The date was 9/11/01.

OUR NATION WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME

Not since December 7, 1941, had a major attack occurred on American soil. Like Pearl Harbor, the cowardly attacks on 9/11 united our nation, at least for a while.

It didn’t take long for the politicians in Washinton to use the tragedy for personal gain. Two unconstitutional situations remain today because of rash decisions by politicians: the Patriot Act, and ICE. Corporations hurried to produce memorabilia to sell to patriotic Americans. There was money to be made.

If I seem cynical, that’s because I have learned this response over a long life.

Bumper stickers were everywhere. One of these foolish displays of patriotism professed “The Power of Pride.” What the hell was that all about? Pride is an emotion, and emotions weaken human resolve and purpose. I never understood that one.

We must never forget that day and the 2,977 innocent Americans who lost their lives from attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the men and women who sacrificed their lives over Pennsylvania, preventing an assumed attack on the White House.

WHAT OUR GOVERNMENT AND THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA DON’T WANT YOU TO REMEMBER

The threat from foreign terrorists remains, but is no longer the greatest danger to our nation’s people. Domestic terrorism is the reason it is unsafe to leave your home in 2024.

No venue is safe. Grocery stores, malls, gyms, restaurants, bars, movie theaters, and even churches and schools have been targets for domestic terrorists. In the 21st century, the number of deaths related to the use of guns averages 42,654 per year. As of 2023, the total equals 981,042.

Possibly the most unforgivable of all are the murders of our children while attending school.

On April 20, 1999, Columbine High School, in Columbine, Colorado, was under siege by two of its own students. When it ended, 15 young men and women had lost their lives, including the perpetrators of the assault.

Since that sad day, there have been 417 school shootings, affecting more than 383,000 young men and women. This includes the unforgettable assault on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. 20 children, ages 6 and under, and six educators were slaughtered by a single gunman.

MOST OF THIS SERIOUS THREAT TO ALL AMERICANS CAN BE REDUCED OR ELIMINATED

There are simple solutions. However, a large percentage of our government is indebted to the NRA gun lobby. Human lives are of lesser importance than campaign contributions.

The largest number of deaths resulting from a mass shooting by a single gunman was 58. It happened at a concert in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017. The sociopath was armed with at least 12 assault rifles, and “bump stocks” which converted them to automatic weapons. More than 200 innocent people were injured.

As usual, Republicans offered “thoughts and prayers,” but nothing more. To make this even worse, months later a proposal to eliminate the sale of bump stocks was brought before Congress. The NRA opposed the ban, and right-wing politicians bowed to the gun lobby’s demands.

I AM TIRED OF THE BULLSHIT, AND THIS IS WHY

Both military-style assault rifles and handguns are manufactured for a single purpose: to kill human beings.

Handguns are available to anyone who wants one, legally or illegally. Gun owners claim that they are necessary for “self-protection.” The truth is that only a few of these men or women can effectively hit a target at a distance of 10 feet. A shotgun, cannot miss, but shotguns are not “sexy.”

Assault rifles and the high-output magazines attached to these weapons of mass destruction were originally intended solely for use by our military. They are, by design, weapons used to kill large numbers of the enemy in a short period of time.

Banning these killing machines is not prohibited by the Second Amendment. Actually, the Second Amendment is so ambiguous and out of date, gun control in any form will not violate the Constitution. But that’s just my opinion.

We will always mourn the victims of 9/11. However, we need not continue to mourn the thousands of men, women, and children who lose their lives every year for no reason other than that they were living their lives being normal human beings.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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