Monday, November 17, 2014

How Dare I

Kyle and I have been watching the interview series The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden. I wasn't necessarily planning to watch the series, but we stumbled upon it one night and were immediately drawn in to the interview. To be honest with you, this news loving and current events junkie hasn't been keeping up with world news lately. I would see things going on in the Middle East and other important subjects and would change the channel or put down my readings. And then we watched the first part of the interview and I thought to myself...

How dare I. 

How dare I turn a blind eye to the things going on in our world just because they are hard to deal with and not easy to cope with hearing. It is our job as Americans to be informed and know what is happening. And how dare I feel like it is a inconvenience to me to have to hear about these tough subjects like beheading, Christian persecution, and terrorism, when innocent people are having to live these terrible scenarios every single day.


How dare I.

I will never forget 9/11. It was a day that changed America. My young mind was changed and shaped on that day as well. It was a day that put fear into our world. Innocence was lost. Fear was disbursed throughout our nation. In the days following though, I remember such a strong sense of country and patriotism. United we stand, divided we fall became the running theme. America had been attacked, but was not going to be taken down. I still have chills when I see the video of President Bush shouting from the rubble, "I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people – and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." The crowd reacted with loud, prolonged chants of "USA! USA!" We were united. 


How dare I.

How dare I for ever turning the channel when it was too hard to hear that terrorism is still alive and in our world. This war that started by purely evil terrorists on 9/11 is still alive and always will be until every last enemy of America in gone. The interview series on killing Bin Laden reminded me of this and not just the negative side of it.


I remember watching the news late one night and hearing President declare, "Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

Almost 10 years later Bin Laden was killed. And I wasn't a scared, young girl anymore, but now a wife and mother to one with another precious baby on the way. I sat up and cried tears as I heard that President Obama had just called President Bush to let him know that Bin Laden had been taken down. I cried tears as I watched the people in the streets of NYC and DC chanting USA! USA! United we stand, divided we fall. We were still united 10 years later. 

Americans disagree on politics, but  nothing brings us together more than patriotism. We fiercely love our country and the men and women who defend us every day

During the special, Navy Seal Rob talked about the 82 minute helicopter ride to the mission to take down Bin Laden. He counted to 1000 and back to 1 over and over to keep his mind busy. And then he remembered President Bush saying, "Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended."

Rob hopped off the plane and repeated over and over to himself, "Freedom will be defended."

He talked about the mission and how all of the seals worked together with perfect teamwork. They all put each other's safety ahead of their own. They were all on that mission to put each American's personal safety ahead of their own. They went on the mission without any hesitation. Just 15 hours earlier they had each been home safely with their families, but put each American family above their own. We have the most incredible group of men and women in the world defending us.

How dare I. 

How dare I ever take our defenders for granted by not staying in tune with what is going on in their world.


The special showed the reactions of family members of 9/11 victims. Most of them seemed relieved to hear details of the mission. It gave them a sense of closure. For me it gave me a restored sense of patriotism. It reminded me how great our defense system is and gave me a sense of comfort and safety.


Should Rob have gone on record and publicly told his story? I don't know. I know for many people it gave them answers, details, and was a great resource for information. I do not feel like he breached the security of our country. If I were him or his family, I would be more worried about HIS personal safety after such an open interview that partly even took place in hometown.

That is the great thing about our American soldier though.....They are completely fearless. The go into battle every day and put their life on the line for you and for me.

How dare I. 


If I ever forget.

1 comment:

  1. This is so touching and awesome!! I will admit I am horrible about not keeping up with what is going on. I don't do it on purpose but it truly causes me to worry about things I can not control, so its easier for me to not watch it! Thank you for reminding me that I need to know what is going on.....

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