I sat here today in the warm sunshine under a bright blue sky with my nearly
four year old grandson. We were painting a pirate face on a little pumpkin
we had just bought at a roadside stand full of pumpkins and corn shocks. A
sure indicator that autumn has arrived in New England. I watched his bright
blue eyes sparkle as he painted. A portrait of innocence if there ever were
one. My mind reviewed the horror I had seen unfold electronically before my
eyes yesterday. This little boy, full of the promise of tomorrow, will
never experience the world as I did at his age. No longer safe to roam out
of arms reach of parents or grandparents because of the crazies and perverts
that abound. He won't have the freedom I had in the fifties to pedal my
bike around my little farming community. My folks knew that I could knock
on any door in town for help if I was in trouble and that other "grownups"
would steer me away from danger. No longer safe to travel freely even in
his own country due to the reality of the events of September 11, 2001. I
couldn't help but remember that Peter, Paul and Mary folk song from so many
years ago entitled "Don't take my Freedom from me". In fact I had seen them
do this song on a PBS special not too long ago. The singer bemoans the fact
that injustice and prejudice still abound but takes solace in the fact that
as long as we are free, there is the possibility that those societal ills
will be eliminated. That is what has to become our rallying cry. We cannot
allow a clandestine group of amoral terrorists to take our freedom from us,
to cause us to barricade ourselves in fortresses, dreading contact with the
outside world. Where do we start? I say we start by demanding a President
of the United States and every one of our elected officials to do what is
right, not what their pollsters and party say will win the next election.
Demand accountability to the hard questions of Tuesday. Why wasn't airport
security better? Why has the FAA fined both United and American over a
million dollars each for airport security violations? Why wasn't action
taken beyond these fines that are treated as a "cost of doing business" by
the airlines? Why haven't our elected and appointed officials done the
right thing? The fear of inconveniencing our air travelers could mean
votes they won't get in the next election? Fly Israeli airlines and see
what security really is! We should be shouting why, why, why to the CIA and
the NSA. Why didn't you know? Certainly strategic think tanks have said
for years this country was not immune to this type of terrorism. What's
next? A biological agent in a major city watersupply? Why hasn't
Congressional oversight done more to make our intelligence community
effective? Yes we need to point blame at the bastards who did this. Once
blame is assigned retribution should be swift and severe. I support that
one hundred and ten percent. But let us not forget those whose actions
unwittingly aided this conspiracy. There are a lot of people in this
country who made it easier for them to take all these lives in a couple of
short hours. Until there is a popular uprising demanding change, things
will be status quo. A few voices crying out in the wilderness never
bothered a politician before or in the future. There must be a groundswell
that turns into a verbal torrent demanding by the ballot box that our public
servants really serve us, not their own selfish agendas. We want to spend
billions to build a star wars defense system to eliminate the threat of
rouge nations launching a missile but we can't employ and enforce enough
security to keep a few foreign nationals from hijacking commercial airliners
with box cutters. There is something awfully wrong with this picture.
To my grandsons Evan, Danny and Wyatt, all I can say is that I am sorry.
Sorry the world is the way it is, sorry that I haven't done more to change
it. Sorry that all too soon your innocence will fade and be replaced with a
reality that, at this point, isn't very attractive. But you should know
that Grandpa will do what he can while he is still here to put things right;
to give you a future as good as it can be. May all your days be sunny and
cloudless, may all life's activities put a twinkle in your eyes and may you
never have to fear the shadow of evil.
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