"SOME PEOPLE DID SOMETHING" 18 YRS LATER!
A TALE OF TWO COUNTRIES, THE U.S. POST 9-11!
Op-Ed by Nick Chiarchiaro for Black Wire Media Friday Sept. 13, 2019 www.cnjfo.com/join-us
Dickens once said, and it was his first few words, “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times,” That is true then for that story in the "Tale of Two City’s" and what I am about to share with you as the tale of Two Countries.
It was a bright sunny day over 18 years ago, early in the morning America was waking up to start their day. In the NY area, I am all sure we can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing – sadly some of us would like to really be able to forget for just a bit, brief moments of solace, where we are not constantly reminded of what we are so needing to be able to put away and forget at times.
I was in my home office; my day was ramping up and I had been at it for over an our already. It was a beautiful morning overlooking the yard through the window when I could catch a glancing gaze away from the illuminating glow of the computer monitor, so much to do today, so better get to it.
I was upstairs by myself getting ready as the day unfolded. No radio, no TV. All alone (or was I)? At around 8:55/56 in the morning I had been overcome with a desperate feeling of dread, dread so deep that my body shook and I had an overwhelming feeling of the need to call my mother at work. I dialed, fast busy. Hmmm, right number. Redial by hand, fast busy. Line is dead?
Then the scream pierced the morning, my wife calling with sorrow in her voice from downstairs – a plane hit the trade center. I processed those words, a plane hit the trade center? My mind saw a little piper cub hitting the building and I thought to myself how can that be, maybe he passed out. She knew what I didn’t till I descended downstairs and saw the TV. Well the rest of THAT day is history as they say, and the months and years after it….
Much of what transpired in the aftermath of that morning is as clear as the day is long, and sadly, I relive it most everyday as I trek to Manhattan for work. We all do it, I am not the Mayor of grief town and own it personally, many people were impacted that day, and we do what we need to do for our families, as much as we want to run far and run fast away from this city at times. Those many people, some I am sure were members of organizations, clubs, groups etc. – both alive and dead. The difference is the dead do not get to get insulted and hurt twice.
In the immediate aftermath, there was deep anger towards the Islamic communities, especially when we saw "some people that did something", some of them were actually cheering – some people, we saw them on TV – we remember that too. See the Islamic terrorists perpetrated a hijacking with box cutters and a well-timed & planned attack and used some planes as smart bombs to kill a hell of a lot of people, to strike fear into a nation.
The anger was deep – at times it still is. We were all told that you cannot judge an entire group of people by the actions of maniacs bent on mass murder by the media. Do not hold those innocent people responsible for the action of fringe elements, crazy people, sick people who have no regard for life. No regard for live and let live. Sick people.
We have had a surge in mental health issues in this nation in the past 20 years, overmedication, no access to mental health services – the stigma placed on people who seek mental health services. We prescribe psychotropic drugs, mind altering ‘medications’ to manage people. We provide no true method to help those that are hurting. We fail those that are relentlessly bullied in schools, we fail those that are on the fringe and ostracize them for the fact that they are different. The vast majority by the grace of God get through the day without hurting themselves or others, but sadly we have had those that are bent on hurting themselves and as many others as they can so they can feel the pain that they feel, each moment of every day. Their sickness overtakes their sensibilities and they become violent.
They lash out with hands, feet, knives, fuel, and sadly guns.
Dickens also said right after his first few words in that tale, “ it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity”.
Last week the intelligentsia at the San Francisco Board of Organizers thought it reasonable, the week before the anniversary of a real terrorist strike, to label members of the NRA as terrorists. As an NRA member I am disgusted to the core that the SF Board of Organizers would paint me as a terrorist the week before 9/11, if at all. Truly the epoch of incredulity!
How in the name of all that is right, law abiding citizens of this nation can be labeled as terrorists, just because they belong to an organization? Well it is not hard to see how it can happen, truly the epoch of belief, as those same folks is San Francisco now call criminals ‘justice involved persons‘, yes you cannot make this up.
As we take time this week and every day to look back on the horrific event that plagued this nation both on 9/11 and those terrible murders by criminals, we must place blame solely where it lies, with the actor performing the terrible act. As Ronald Reagan said, “We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”
Do I really care that some folks in San Francisco label me a terrorist because I am an NRA member? Not really! In order to be insulted I must first value their opinion of which I do not. But as I said earlier the living can get at least hurt twice, and those statements did at least hurt because I was relegated to a group of people that commit murder for political aims by doing violence and intimidation to the weak.
Let us hope that going forward we can embark on a “spring of hope” and not a “winter of despair” in the coming months and years as a nation that can and should come together to heal itself. To live and let live, to allow people the freedom to seek the pursuit of happiness that this nation was founded on.
In that spirit, I wish the liberal that knows not of what they speak, the anarchist that seeks to destroy this nation and especially the media. The media that which urged all Americans in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, to not judge all members of the Islamic organizations as terrorists and murderers by the actions of a few. Hoping for the spring of hope, that the media and others, will extend the very statements they used post 9/11, to not judge many for the actions of a few extend the very same thoughts to their fellow citizens, that are law abiding gun owners.
We as citizens, we as patriots, we as fellow Americans – deserve better!
EDITOR's NOTE:
Historian Nick Chiarchiaro's terrorism analogy with San Francisco calling NRA members "Terrorists" struck a nerve in all of us. HOW DARE THEY! Chiarchiaro is a NRA member, shooter, collector, mentor, father of two daughters, husband, and a host of other things. As a CNJFO member he volunteers to both write and teach for the Coalition. He's also a VICTIM with a 9/11 wound that will never completely heal. We brought you his Op-Ed today in hopes of making people THINK before they speak, and to join him in calling-out those that throw around incendiary speech like hand grenades. We hope our readers appreciate both the pain and his calling for healing in a world yet to be. ---The Editors
