June 14, 2004

Our country faces a difficult time presently and we should all know that we should expect continued challenging times ahead. The war on terrorism will most likely carry-on for many years, possibly even decades. We as a people cannot forget why we must pursue this course. This is not President George W. Bush's war; this is our war. This conflict (or series of conflicts) will span several years and multiple generations. Our focus cannot be broken by partisan politics.

Remember the confusion, fear, dazed feelings immediately following the attacks on September 11th? Remember the fear of additional attacks, the ones we all believed were coming at any moment? The horrible resurgence of those feelings when American flight 587 went down in New York? How about all those public warnings, and the new color-coded threat advisories? Our scramble to coordinate response and relief units in expectation of imminent attacks. The gas masks, rations, and duct tape? How many of us could have imagined that more than two-and-a-half years later additional attacks have not occurred on our soil? I believe that we can attribute this success to the strong proactive position taken by President Bush, increased action by our government agencies, cooperation with allied governments around the world, as well as the heightened vigilance of many average Americans.

Al Qaeda declared war on us more than ten years ago. Initial targets were U.S. citizens, interests and symbols overseas. Our mainland was largely safe and although these attacks were serious, they actually affected few Americans. That is to say that our perceived safety in the homeland afforded us a false sense of comfort and security. Only in the past three years have we overtly responded and become very largely involved in this war.

No, this temporary lull in the homeland does not indicate that we have won the war. Yes, I do still think they are coming after us, and they will seek our most innocent and complacent. None of us wish to live and raise our families in fear, but we cannot let down our guard. Freedom has never been free, but it has always been worth the price. Please join with me in showing our unity and patriotism daily and especially on the 228th anniversary of our nation’s independence on July 4th.