I walked off the bus on Tuesday morning. It was cold out, as it should be for early October. I looked down and saw something written on the sidewalk. The chalking read "Less John Wayne, more Gandhi." Surrounding it were countless other messages proclaiming peace. Proclaiming we shouldn't be bombing Afghanistan, as our country is at this very moment, that we should be idle in this time of conflict.
I remember on Sept. 11 that I was angered beyond words that we were attacked in such a cowardly manner. Now I'll remember on Oct. 9 I was full of more rage than any terrorist attack could cause. The chalking that littered the ground was a sign to me that some people just don't get it. I'm sure they have this image in their mind that what they have written is right, that not doing anything will solve our problems.
The thing I wonder is - where were these people a month ago? Didn't they watch the news? Didn't they see all the people dying? Didn't they see the people in the World Trade Center jumping to their deaths to avoid a worse one by burning to death? Didn't they see the death toll rise and rise? Didn't they see the American flags at half staff or the flags in the windows of cars and stores all over the area? I know I sure did.
Another phrase chalked onto the ground read "Bombs Don't Discriminate." Well, airplanes that are slammed into skyscrapers don't discriminate either. There's a big difference between the United States bombing centers in Afghanistan that are bases for terrorists and having thousands of people die in an unprovoked attack.
The chalkers need to open their eyes. No one can be brought to justice in the courts if they can't be found. We did not start this war, we were perfectly fine and content in peace on Sept. 10. The next day war was waged on us. What should we do? Sit back and say, "Don't do that again?" We've been the victim of terrorism, an unprovoked attack by people who think we are all that is evil in the world. When it comes to payback for the attacks, I'm with the other 90 percent of the country. I say strike them back and strike back hard. Let's show these people that we won't sit back and let things like this happen. This isn't like Vietnam, where war didn't affect us at home. We've seen the effects of a war on the United States for the first time since Pearl Harbor.
The memory is still fresh in all of our minds. My cousin's in the army and is suiting up to head to war. He has no doubts in his mind that this is the right thing to do. He wants retribution, just like everyone who lost someone on the 11th does, just like every American should. So let's go get them. Let's show them what we're made of, body and soul. You can call me a jerk by writing this. You can call me a bigot. But at least you can also call me patriotic. At least you can call me an American.
