Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Kissed by a Rose on the Gray

There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea
You became the light on the dark side of me
--Seal

The blue sky this morning provided an early reminder of the day my world changed. Eleven years ago, a cobalt blue sky became the canvas for sickly gray splatter. My emotional control still weakens whenever I view 9-11 footage. As our priest recounted the story of Tom Burnett this past Sunday, I felt my eyes widening and hands flexing as I once again undertook the vicarious exercise.

I don't like being there.

As unpleasant as these memories are, they do serve a constructive purpose. They remind me that this was the day that I began to asking questions that I had never considered before. Won't freedom suffer if we get serious about securing ourselves from terrorists and other 'national threats'? In fact, isn't there a fundamental trade-off between freedom and safety? Surely, those who wrote the Constitution considered this point that suddenly struck me as 'obvious' and independent of time. What did they have to say on the matter?

And so it began. A quest for truth that won't stop.

I woke up eleven years ago. Although this day always hurts, I am grateful for it.

2 comments:

dgeorge12358 said...

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
~Benjamin Franklin

dgeorge12358 said...

Deena: No! Sit down, be still, be quiet, and don't draw attention to yourself!

Tom: Deena! If they're going to crash this plane into the ground, we're going to have do something!

Deena: What about the authorities?

Tom: We can't wait for the authorities. I don't know what they could do anyway. It's up to us. I think we can do it.

Deena: What do you want me to do?

Tom: Pray, Deena, just pray.

Deena: (after a long pause) I love you.

Tom: Don't worry, we're going to do something.

~democraticunderground.com