I agree wholeheartedly with what one of the firefighters said this morning, after reading the names of the dead--including his friends and brother--

"Never forgive, never forget"

It's not a tragedy, it's an atrocity.

That was precisely my response the first time I saw the weasel word "tragedy" used to describe 9-11. From the outset, the media worked to subtly manipulate our perceptions of evil.

It's not a tragedy, it's an atrocity.

What more needs to be said.

"I should have realized that a society that does not know the difference between a tragedy and an atrocity will be a culture that has little idea how to recognize and make war on evil."

The American people DID and DOES understand... it is only the news media idiots and the politicians who do not and did not.

Dr. Carol:

A few days ago The NY Times ran a front page story on so-called "9-11 fatigue." As far as I could tell the chattering classes are anxious not only forget but to excuse and enable all future genocide perpetrated by Islamic terrorists.

I still believe that one of the fundamental problems is that far too many people try to view this through logic and western eyes.

People are taught that if you are nice to others they will be nice to you. And for some they cannot make the jump to accepting that some people will murder you for not believing as they do.

Kishke:

The mainstream media are not journalists, for the most part they are jihadist collaborators. Europe has been lost because of their odious submission to jihad, Jew and America hatred.

Lance:

As you know, Ariel, for such a young man, was incredibly wise.

Jake:

With all due respect, I do not believe that the Democratic party recognizes the peril of radical Islamic evil. Cruise on over to the websites of Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama, jihad is never mentioned. They are however, deeply concerned over so-called global warming. You see, the weather is evil.

Jake:

Speaking of those who have no idea how to recognize much less fight evil.

This was published, with no rebuttal, in the Los Angeles (not so) Jewish Journal last week. It's written by Eric Yoffie, leader of the American Reform movement.

http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=18162

Too many on the left are asleep and I fear they will always be asleep to the danger. They want to ignore any threats to their utopian vision. James Lewis does a gret job describing their delusion.

Why the Left Must Deny 9/11
By James Lewis

"In the endless Summer of Love there is no 9/11. And to tens of millions of dreamy folk on the Left, the Summer of Love never stopped. For those people there is no dangerous Ahmadi-Nejad in Tehran, threatening a fiery new holocaust for Tel Aviv and Washington, DC. There is no nuclear proliferation by mad little mass-murdering Kim Jong Il. There is no Osama Bin Laden stirring up terror cells around the world -- just a poor, confused man somewhere in the mysterious, deeply spiritual East, whom we have offended in some terrible way."

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/09/why_the_left_must_deny_911.html

Robert - a very powerful and moving post. It seems that in the West we forget everything too quickly - the sacrifices of our veterans in WWII, the atrocities of the Holocaust, and now, only 6 years later, the deliberate atrocity of the murder of 3,000 people.

That is why Zachor is such an important principle!

Best personal regards from Canada (where Elections Canada says that you can vote in your burqa - http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=26964_Canada_Allows_Voting_in_Disguise&only)

Mark

People are taught that if you are nice to others they will be nice to you.

This is a corruption and inversion of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Like most corruptions and inversions, it sounds superficially like the original, but has discarded all the truth in it.

If I was a Martian who had just landed here and knew little about men and things -- or if I was a sheltered college student, which amounts to the same thing -- it would sound logical to me that people would respond to being treated nicely by acting nice.

Empirical evidence shows otherwise.

Even my wife, a good woman that I love, has snapped at me when she's been in a bad mood and all I was trying to do was be helpful. How much more the average stranger?

A true bittersweet memory for you.



Shana Tova, a year of health and peace to you and your family.

XP:

Thanks so much for the excellent link. You are relatively new to our forum but your thoughts and comments are always articulate and eloquent. We thank you for your valuable insights. Welcome.

Mark:

What's going to happen when these veiled figures step into banks? In America we usually shoot such people; they are known as criminals.

Canada leans on America for her self-defense. Without America The Great North is, you'll excuse me, red meat for the jihadists. If the Canadians don't wake up to the real enemy, well, Canada will become Canadastan.

Shana Tova umituka to you and yours:)

Kent:

Of course if you are nice to your enemies they will kill you. It's that simple and history provides volumes of proof.

The only thing that surprises me is that this society is surprised when the jihadists carry through on their threats.

Listen, if you want to avoid marital friction there's one sure-fire method: volunteer to fold the laundry:)

Betsy:

Shana Tova umituka to you and yours. Thanks so much.

Robert,

Thank you for hosting such a civilised blog - a rare commodity in cyber space. It is a pleasure to read your eloquent posts, as well as the many articulate comments posted by your community.

Robert:

Shana Tova to you and your family.

David
Tel-Aviv

I remember watching it happen, and the surreal feeling, almost like I was watching a movie...and the days afterwards, watching it over and over again on tv and seeing all the interviews, sick to my stomach yet unable to tear myself away. May this new year bring peace.

Robert - Wishing you, Karen and your offspring, a sweet, happy and healthy year.
Keep fighting the good fight.

Mata

David:

Shana Tova to you and yours. Thanks so much for all your wonderful contributions to Seraphic Secret.

Mata Hari:

9-11 in memory has become much like like the Kennedy assassination. We remember exactly where we were.

BTW, the Kennedy assassination was on the Friday of my Bar Mitzvah. Parsha Vayetzeh.

Shana Tova umituka to you and yours. And thanks so much for all your fine comments on this blog. You always enliven our day.

Robert, what an eloquent and wrenching post. I felt as if I were given a tiny glimpse of the heartache you and Karen share in the remembrance of your son, and the atrocity of 9/11. The glimpse was indeed overwhelming. Please know I handle it with the greatest of care.

My husband and I concurred that of course it was an atrocity - people very willfully and purposefully and with full intent sought to destroy as many as possible. If they had the power they would have continued on to genocide.

A tragedy was Katrina - not the purposeful evil intent of man but the forces of nature.

Two extremely different motivations (if you will) and two very different causes and effects.

To lessen the atrocity to a 'tragedy' is an insult to all who perished, to their loved ones, and to those of us who don't buy the company line.

We know better. And because of that, we will not forget.

XP:

You're very welcome.

Dana:

Thanks so much for the lovely comment and for all your contributions to our on-line community. Your sensitivity to our feelings about Ariel are deeply appreciated.

9-11: atrocity.
Katrina: tragedy.

Perfect.

Here in New York City, people have been talking about the need to "move on" and "get over" the 9/11 attacks. Of course, those are the people who did not lose loved ones that day. Those who know the unending pain of losing someone you love know that it is impossible and unthinkable to "get over" their deaths. Thank you for reminding us of that.
Your son Ariel z"l must have been an incredibly special and sensitive young man.
God bless you and your family.

Janet:

Those who wish to "move on" or "get over it" have the emotional depth of toilet bowls.

These are, of course, the very people who can be counted on to enable the jihadists.

Yes, Ariel ZT'L was a very special young man and we miss him very much. Thanks so much for all your wonderful comments here at Seraphic Secret.

I drive through many suburban side streets to take me to work.

This morning as I drove, I was very pleased to see some U.S. flags placed in solidarity on front lawns and hanging from garage doors.

The horror of that day and all I witnessed on TV and heard on the radio, and repeated countless times, will no doubt stay with me forever. The events of that day are still almost incomprehensible to me...just as the Holocaust was.

Robert, Karen:

Kesivah vachasimah tovah; Gut Yom Tov.

Many thanks for all you do.

Pearl:

Thanks so much for letting us know that there are those in Canada who still remember, who still stand with America. It is a great comfort.

We'd like to thank you for your friendship and to wish you and your lovely family a Shana Tova umituka.

Kishke:

Chaseema V'chaseema Tova to you and your precious family.

And of course, much thanks for all your tips and incredibly witty and articulate comments. Your presence never fails to make Seraphic Secret a more lively and enjoyable cyber community.

"Listen, if you want to avoid marital friction there's one sure-fire method: volunteer to fold the laundry:)"

I apologize if this is a bit colorful, but: I heard a friend comment the other day that foreplay begins with clearing the dishes and doing the laundry. Sounds about right.

Kent:

Not colorful, educational.

Um, I'd ask about a kosher household that has two dishwashers, one for meat, one for milk, but that would be colorful.

I said the American people were with the program, not the politicians and the news media. I would think Hillary and Obama are politicians, no?

Jake:

Hillary and Obama are politicians via support of voters, hence millions of Americans are de facto not with the program. Am I wrong? Boy, I really hope so.

I really think you are. They're Senators of very blue states and were not really challenged by viable candidates from the other side.

Yeah but...

Not really challenged is true; however, many of the voters who put Hillary in office are the type who just see the "D" on the line and vote straight across. They wouldn't pull any other lever if G-d Himself was on a different line. The idea of weighing a candidate's position on issues and voting for the best person for the job never occurs to these voters. They are a huge bloc. Not monolithic, certainly starting to crumble around the edges, but still solidly for the Dems no matter what. On top of that, the Dems are actively fighting any measures to prevent voter fraud, no matter how reasonable (see Georgia's fight over photo voter ID cards), and control the elections in cities (such as Philadelphia, just about the most corrupt city in the county when it comes to voter fraud).

Then there's the academics, who are True Believers, and the liberal students who often are one-issue voters (especially young women--abortion rights trumps everything, including national security). I hear the water cooler talk around the departments and in the school newspapers and the Chronicle of Higher Ed, etc. etc. etc. Their biggest talking point yesterday was not how we have to defeat Islamofascism--if they even admit there is such a thing--but how we "squandered" the good will of the world since 9/11. There's not a lot of counterpoint to these opinions; conservative professors are pretty much silenced unless they have tenure, and the conservative students are often loath to risk their GPAs in a fruitless attempt to provide an alternative viewpoint. It's a pretty bleak picture and some days I find it awfully hard to be optimistic.

Dr. Carol,

Your comments are consistently insightful.

"especially young women--abortion rights trumps everything, including national security"

And in the MSM and with the left, global warming trumps everying, including the threat of Islamofacists.

Its mind boggling.