When Patrick Henry made the famous statement "give me liberty or give me death!" the crowd jumped up and said " To arms! To arms!"

226 years later a plane in the side of a large 110-story building made a statement that threatened liberty once again. And once again we said 'to arms!" not literally. But people were angry. Citizens went off and enlisted just because of the attacks. They wanted to help. 

To be perfectly clear, I am not a "war mongerer" as my English teacher so finely described it. I don't think the military is for everyone. I don't have a starry-eyed view of combat. However the pansy-like attitude that so many Americans have is downright frightening. 

"We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Ouch. That was said before there was even any doubt about who started what. Before people argued about being in Iraq when we originally went to overthrow the Taliban. Bush said that the day of the attacks. I find that amazing.

 I was 11 years old at the time. My understanding at the time wasn't that great but looking back I can see. Grey ash and tears. Blood. Smoke. Total disbelief.

I, like many other Americans, wonder what the Iraq situation would look like if people could understand the severity of terrorism. The source of evil was clear in WWII. Nazi Germany was evil. Terrorism took it to the next level by valuing hatred over life itself. And yet we contemplate. I have literally heard classmates say they do not believe terrorism exists. What if Cindy Sheehan decided that she would rather be angry with the terrorists who took her son's life than the US government?

Maybe its because insurgents aren't running around on American soil. They aren't gunning down people or taking shelter behind women and children. A roadside bomb has never gone off on an interstate highway. A bus has never exploded in downtown LA. Is that what it would take for citizens to become passionate? 

Frightening. 

You’ve heard all this before. Its not a simple answer. There is no easy way out. But that's exactly the point. It’s a twisted evil enemy. It takes a clear-thinking nation to bite the bullet and finish it once and the right way.