OPINION
Published on September 11, 2010 By Big Fat Daddy In Misc

This morning I went to a simple ceremony in honor of those who died on September 11, 2001. A group of high school students gathered on the lawn near the flag pole of their school and blew Taps in rounds; they call it "Echo Taps". They blew Taps four times, at the time each plane struck its target, times adjusted for the time zones. This was a semi-coordinated effort by a group called "Bugles Across America". The idea was that by adjusting for the time zones, all of the ceremonies would be taking place simultaneously. The lead trumpeter started the round, then each of the other two groups joined in turn. The other two groups consisted of a trumpet, a tuba, and a trombone. It was simple, moving, and beautifully done. My sixteen-year-old grandaughter, Emily, was the lead trumpeter and I couldn't have been more proud of her.

Emily has been associated with Bugles Across America for several months now. The organization was founded when, (I guess) due to a shortage of buglers, soldiers were being buried to the strains of a taped version of Taps. A fellow named Tom Day felt that vets deserved at least a live bugler at their graveside service. So he got together a bunch of volunteers to blow Taps at military funerals. His website claims over 7000 buglers spread over all fifty states. I think he is not only a genius, but a hero as well. And I am extremely proud of Emily for wanting to be a part of this. She has not only played at funerals, she has participated in the Echo Taps at various places around the colorful state. When the idea of this 9-11 tribute came up, she organized the whole thing at her school. She looked absolutely regal in her dark suit, her shiny new trumpet, and the demeanor of a woman many years older than she is.

We came home and put up the flag. That was about as much of 9-11 commemoration as I was up for. Every year the whole thing boils up again. I don't know what bothers me more, all the things we have seen a thousand times or all the things we are never shown because they might be too inflammatory; might...what? Make me mad? Too late. I been carrying a "mad-on" over 9-11 for nine years and I really don't see any relaxation of it in the near or distant future. Despite myself, I watched a couple of the documentaries tonight. They both are showing scenes of the jumpers from the towers; I remember that they quit showing those scenes late on the evening of the attacks. They were, I suppose, protecting our sensibilities. Like they protected us from the headless bodies hanging from the bridge over the Euphrates in Baghdad, or the beheading of the captured journalists, or the bodies of our GIs who had been captured, then hollowed out and stuffed with explosives to blow up when their rescuers arrived. I don't particularly want to see that stuff. But I just wonder where the concern for our feelings was when every night for years on end we had our soldiers being shot, blown up, burned, hauled out on stretchers, and piled up in poncho-covered heaps, paraded across our TV screens dressed up as the Nightly News...I guess Vietnam was different, somehow.

The effort to spare the radicals from our anger is what angers me. I think we need to show the towers coming down every morning when the stations sign on and every evening when the news starts. We should be reminded every day, as many times a day as is necessary to awaken the anger in us all. We should be mad. Maybe if we were mad enough, we would start to ask questions like, "Why would the grand leader of us all balk at chastising Islamists who fly in the face of common decency with their plan to plant a mosque in the middle of an area that has become nearly sacred ground to most Americans but will immediately condemn one little congregation that wants to show their frustration and anger by burning the Koran?" Or, "Why does the same leader feel it necessary to punish one of the states for passing a law to do what the leader is required by law to do...but doesn't?" Heaven help us if we should face up to the fact that Jihadists practice a religion that claims to be peaceful but trains its youth to hate...to the point of being willing to strap on a vest full of semtex and walk into a crowd of "infidels" and go boom. We'd be worse than racists in that case; we would be the wacky religious right that the atheist libs always accuse us of being. And by the way, if "he" ever succeeds in turning 9-11 into a national "day of service"...I will know the world has gone crazy.

Watching those high-schoolers paying tribute, at 6:47 am our time, I couldn't help but compare the youth of America with the youth of Islam. Bomb vests vs Echo Taps. Who do you think represents the best hope for the future?


Comments
on Sep 13, 2010

A local Radio station has played the Star Spangled Banner every day since 9-11-01 at 9am.  Somethings carry on, even if they are not overt (like the Detroit Christmas bomber who was gang tackled when he tried to light his pants on fire).

I am glad to see your granddaughter as part of the Bugles Across America!  I think it reflects very well on you and your wife and the family you raised.

on Sep 14, 2010

Thanks, Doc.  I am very proud of her.

on Sep 14, 2010

I don't know how you managed to not go on a huge rant with this article.  Between the proposed "National Day of Service", the mosque at the WTC site, and the utter hypocrisy of condemning burning the Koran while our United States flag is shown being burned world-wide, my "mad-on" is just being fueled.

It's infuriating that the wishes of the majority are continually ignored in order to allow special treatment for the minority.  I am NOT advocating discrimination, just reality.  One's religion is a personal choice that is not readily apparent as skin color or gender is.  The freedom we enjoy in this country allows any and all to choose to practice (or not) ANY religion.   But that freedom does mean that special treatment is the same as equal treatment.

The majority of the people in this country are Christians.  That fact is neither wrong, right, or indifferent, it just is.  The President, the politicians, and the media need to stop apologizing to the world for that fact.

It's time for the people of United States to put on our "big girl panties".  Demand the media start showing what atrocities are being done to OUR soldiers.  Quit being so appalled when faced with mere pictures and stories of the moral dilemmas that are inherent to war.  Remember that those pictures and moral dilemmas are real and OUR soldiers have to deal with them and live with them, in person, EVERY SINGLE day .  Look again at the footage of those people, those Americans, who, through NO fault of their own, were faced with the fact that, on an otherwise ordinary work day, their "best option" on the morning of September 11, 2001 was to jump to their deaths.

I'm sick of the apologies, the special treatment, the kid gloves.  We are Americans, our country was attacked on September 11, 2001 and this war has gone on far too long.  The war needs to be ended now, with the only consideration being no loss of American or Ally lives.   Any further attacks need to be met with overwhelming force and without care for "collateral damage" or the feelings of non-Americans.  Suck it up people. 

How many more of our soldiers have to die?  How much longer are we willing to stifle our freedoms and our voices because we're afraid of reprisals from "the terrorists"?

on Sep 14, 2010

i want to start by saying that i am also very proud of emily. it brings tears to my eyes every time i have the honor of taking her to a veterans funeral to play taps. she found out about it on her own, makes all the deals, and just tells us where she needs to be and when she needs to be there. and dad is right, she is a beautiful, professional woman when she does this volunteer work. she takes it very seriously, and has become an often requested bugler. its hard to believe she's the same kid that can't remember to take out the trash at home. ha!

i was asleep when the first tower was hit. my wife's sister called right after, and i answered the phone. she told me that a plane had flown into one of the world trade center buildings. i talked to her about it for a minute, then handed the phone over to my wife without thinking too much about it.

we turned on the news just in time to see the second plane hit. now, i'm not slow, but i didn't realize right away what that meant. my wife knew right away. she's always kept up on what was going on in the world, and recognized it as a terrorist attack. all i could think was "in new york city?", it just didn't make any sense.

for the last nine years, i've been angry too. every day. i became a news junkie, and i always know whats going on. i can't believe how messy the world is. i can't believe how hard it is to get anything done. its ridiculous how our "leaders" can't lead, and how our policies and rules hurt us more than they help us in most cases. its scary how many of our boys and girls have died because we don't want to hurt anyones feelings.

dad said it nicely at the end of his post. echo taps vs. bomb vests. i choose taps. i want america to win! i want my kids to grow up as proud americans! our brilliant forefathers started this country with beautiful ideals. nothing is ever perfect in practice, but we started with perfect intentions. why don't we have the courage to back ourselves up? why can't we believe that we're right?

i believe that we are right! if you knew me, you'd know a guy who loves people. i love the diversity of the cultures in the world. i am an artist and a musician. i am a proud and loving husband and father of five wonderful children. we're not rich, but we have everything we need. we are living the dream. all i want is for my kids and grandkids to be able to have everything i have.

i love our country. i love freedom, and i want peace. unfortunately, until we as humans become more enlightened (which will never happen if we allow ourselves to lose wars against people for whom this is not a goal) we need to fight. and we need to win.

on Sep 16, 2010

Curly:  Thanks for the comment; you've just displayed for all to see why I have valued your friendship for so long.  You are a seriously bright and insightful lady.  I am ready to join with you in putting on my "big girl panties" .  I fear that with all the political wrangling going on, we have a tendency to take our eye off the ball in Iraq and Afghan.  You have heard me go on about total war over there before; I think it is long overdue.  If you turn those mountains into smoldering green glass, you don't have to worry about who is in the caves.

Jimbo:  Emily is the product of good parenting and values.  I am proud of you guys, all of you.