Close to Nowhere - Linda Jones


Thursday, December 9, 2010
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Close to Nowhere
By Linda Jones

“A day that will live in infamy...”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy...

“FDR asks for a Declaration of War”

“The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, stunned virtually everyone in the United States military.

Japan’s carrier-launched bombers found Pearl Harbor totally unprepared. President Franklin Roosevelt quickly addressed Congress to ask for a declaration of war.”

Tuesday morning, Dec. 7, 2010, I once again listened to FDR’s speech, on the Today show. I never fail to be stirred by those words.

So, I decided to Google what President Bush had to say on Sept. 11, 2001. Could a modern day president compare to such a talented orator as FDR?

I am not, nor have I ever been, a Bush (either one) fan. However, at the time, and once again hearing his speech, I was again, very proud to be an American.

One thing terrorists, etc., should always remember -- adversity does not drive Americans apart or scare us. Adversity brings us together and bonds our resolve to remain free.

Following is the first part of Bush’s address to the nation on 9/11:

“Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts.
“The victims were in airplanes or in their offices -- secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers. Moms and dads. Friends and neighbors.
“Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.
“The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger.
“These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation.
“Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.”

As a non-Bush fan (I am an FDR fan, although he was before my time), those words have even more impact than FDR’s.

Pearl Harbor was a devasting act of war.

So was Ground Zero.

Remember our troops everywhere -- especially in Afghanistan. And be proud to be an American!

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