Story of the Day
"They Took a
Vote"
The
strength of a country comes from its people. It always has and always
will. No matter what pomp and bravado a government shows, the solidity of
a nation is directly determined by that of the individual citizen.
America has been
shaken to its core by acts of terror. Many, including our president, have
said that we are strong, that we have resolve and that we will persevere.
These words mean nothing to terrorists. Terrorists wait to see the actions
of people, of individuals, to see if they will buckle and cower.
The cowards who
killed our sisters and brothers, our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters
should know what happened on the flight they unsuccessfully tried to turn into a
bomb over Pennsylvania. So should the rest of our fellow countrymen and
women. In the history of this country of freedom, there has never been an
event more emblematic of the values and heroism of the United States of America.
The flight had been
hijacked, and was being turned around to be used as ammunition against innocent
civilians at some unknown target in Washington, D.C. After some hurried
cell phone calls to their loved ones, passengers learned of the World Trade
Center attacks. They considered the consequences, then they took a vote
together.
In that instant,
they validated the great experiment of the United States of America. They
voted. They affirmed the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution,
our entire history of freedom, and gave meaning to every soldier who's ever died
in the service of this country. Faced with all the threats that this
country stands against, and in their own last hour, these Americans determined
their path with a simple act of democracy, of freedom. They voted.
They voted to give
their lives to save the innocent people for which the plane was headed.
Think about that
for a moment. It's the very definition of heroic. There is something
else in that story, however, something incredible that should fill every
American with pride. None of those American passengers took command.
Nobody ordered them to attack the terrorists. Nobody forced them to follow
along with the heroic insurgence.
Faced with death,
tyranny, and terror, those Americans voted to sacrifice their lives for others.
September 11, 2001,
is a day, as was said of Pearl Harbor, that will live in infamy. Thousands
perished at the hands of cowards. We should never forget, however, that it
was also the day that a few heroic patriots thousands of feet above Pennsylvania
farmland sent a message to the entire world – our commitment to freedom and
democracy, in the United States of America, is not wavering, it is not shaken,
and it cannot be taken away by any act.
America is freedom.