9-11, 2009: "America, Say a Prayer."
September/11/2009 Random Thoughts
I fell asleep around 2 A.M. this morning with the television on. I’ve been working late on a long project for several evenings, and I didn’t even realize that it was September 11 when I woke up to a rebroadcast of the terrible events, exactly 8 years ago. Once again I heard the soft, chilling words of newscaster Jon Scott when he said: “The loss of life will be terrible; America, say a prayer.” I watched the familiar coverage for a few moments, until collapse of the first World Trade Center building, then I turned it off.
When I got to my office computer, I found a Wall Street Journal article I had been reading just before I went to bed. It was by Norman Podhoretz, conservative writer, foreign policy advisor to Mayor Rudolph Giuliani during his run for the presidency, and a holder of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I had highlighted the paragraph below in which Podhoretz describes his view of what divides liberals and conservatives today. Somehow his words resonate particularly on this dreadful day of remembrance:
Of course in speaking of the difference between left and right, or between liberals and conservatives, I have in mind a divide wider than the conflict between Democrats and Republicans and deeper than electoral politics. The great issue between the two political communities is how they feel about the nature of American society. With all exceptions duly noted, I think it fair to say that what liberals mainly see when they look at this country is injustice and oppression of every kind—economic, social and political. By sharp contrast, conservatives see a nation shaped by a complex of traditions, principles and institutions that has afforded more freedom and, even factoring in periodic economic downturns, more prosperity to more of its citizens than in any society in human history. It follows that what liberals believe needs to be changed or discarded—and apologized for to other nations—is precisely what conservatives are dedicated to preserving, reinvigorating and proudly defending against attack.
America, say a prayer.
When I got to my office computer, I found a Wall Street Journal article I had been reading just before I went to bed. It was by Norman Podhoretz, conservative writer, foreign policy advisor to Mayor Rudolph Giuliani during his run for the presidency, and a holder of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I had highlighted the paragraph below in which Podhoretz describes his view of what divides liberals and conservatives today. Somehow his words resonate particularly on this dreadful day of remembrance:
Of course in speaking of the difference between left and right, or between liberals and conservatives, I have in mind a divide wider than the conflict between Democrats and Republicans and deeper than electoral politics. The great issue between the two political communities is how they feel about the nature of American society. With all exceptions duly noted, I think it fair to say that what liberals mainly see when they look at this country is injustice and oppression of every kind—economic, social and political. By sharp contrast, conservatives see a nation shaped by a complex of traditions, principles and institutions that has afforded more freedom and, even factoring in periodic economic downturns, more prosperity to more of its citizens than in any society in human history. It follows that what liberals believe needs to be changed or discarded—and apologized for to other nations—is precisely what conservatives are dedicated to preserving, reinvigorating and proudly defending against attack.
America, say a prayer.