ReformedEsq

An attorney's reflections on life, law, theology, sports, and other random topics. Enjoy!

Monday, September 11, 2006

9/11--Five Years Later

Where were you when it happened? Like the folks of my parents generation, who remember where they were when Kennedy was shot, we remember where we were when the Twin Towers came down and the Pentagon was hit.

I was in the middle of only my third week at my new job at the Beach, and I remember walking out on the floor of the big furniture store where I worked and seeing several people gathered around one of the televisions. To my horror, I saw one of the towers on fire and then I saw footage of a plane crashing into that tower. Fear gripped much of our office, since being near a military installation, many of the workers there had husbands or other family who would likely be put on alert, and not many were sure what was going on. As the events of that day unfolded, I'm sure that most everyone in America felt numb--especially those in New York and Washington--by the end of the day.

But are we still affected by the images, by the thoughts of what happened? Are we still resolved, as a nation, to fight against this terrorist plotting? I'm not so sure we just haven't moved on (all excepting those who experienced first-hand the treachery of that day, or were directly affected by it), almost dismissing the danger.

I watched the "Path to 9/11" special on ABC last night, and I'd have to say it was very interesting--after all, it was a movie, so while events portrayed were based on actual events, there were fictional scenes. But the thing that stuck out in my mind more than anything else was this (and in this I echo a sentiment Michael Medved made in a radio show of his last week): I wish I would have taken the terrorist threat more seriously. In the special, they do an EXCELLENT job of tying together the first WTC bombing, the embassy bombings, and the Cole in leading up to 9/11. It seems it took the events that happened on 9/11 for America to realize what the objective of the Al-Qaida terrorists was--if the events, for the most part, are true as they took place in the movie, it would seem that parts of our government was grasping the threat, but as big as our government is, with all our agencies, departments, sub-departments and sub-sub departments, we did not get the right people to grasp the big picture.

I'm not going to stand here and blame the previous administration for not doing this or that, because even with the movie, we won't know the whole story (though I see as very credible the proffered evidence that we didn't take the chance to get Bin Laden when we could have). There was a very stark moment in the movie last night, when a CIA operative stated that in war we had to go find terrorists and destroy them and their property, and the response? It's a law and order problem.

This is a war that constrains us, because we are fighting in a manner that would be conventional, in the sense that we are dressing up soldiers in uniforms trying as hard as possible not to kill innocents, while the terrorists intentionally blend in with their surroundings and do not blink an eye to kill innocents, if it will serve their purpose. They're not playing by the same rules, and they know it.

But beyond all this political and social commentary, simply remember this day, and remember the families that were left behind in the aftermath of this tragedy. Pray that they would be drawn into the fold of Christ, and be comforted.

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Friday, September 01, 2006

Labor Day Tour

Yeah, so it's three in the morning and this seems to be the normal time I wake up more tired than a dog but can't got back to sleep right away, so here's to passing the time!

So how much can you fit into one weekend? Well, apparently quite a bit. After I get off work today, we'll be leaving for KY, but along the way, we'll be stopping in WV to see the college roommate I had all four years (a rare thing, apparently) and his soon to be wife (this is a relatively new engagement and the wedding is quite soon, so I'd like to meet her before the ceremony, ya know?).

THEN, we'll get to KY where in the morning (Sat), I'll be having breakfast with another roommate and then my wife and I will have lunch with some good friends we helped moved from the Beach to the Cincinnati area. We'll then go out to eat Sat night and Sun lunch with my folks and then on the way back to VA, we'll stop in WV to see a law school buddy of mine for lunch on Monday.

PHEW! I am looking forward to seeing all of these people, but I sure will need the Lord's grace and strength to uphold me (as if this different from usual, but with all of this, ESPECIALLY this weekend).

Have a great Labor Day--take time to rest and enjoy the fruit of your labor by glorifying God for the job that He has given you to provide for your family, whether that be a job in the workforce or more importantly as housewife/nuturer/teacher of children. And also thank God for the opportunity to rest from those endeavors occasionally (though I'm sure the housewife/mother hardly ever is able to!).