9 / 11

So here this country sits, five years after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I'm not really in the mood to make a big long rant about the proper role of government or anything like that. I just feel a bit sad that things like that happen and some people don't think it is noteworthy anymore or not worth dwelling on.

I disagree.

Granted, I don't think we should be thinking about it every day or living in fear/anger/whatever for the rest of our lives. We should, however, remember that that event changed (or should have anyway) everything - similar to how the bombing of Pearl Harbor changed everything for the people back then. The difference between then and now, I think, is that we have become so jaded with a life of luxury.

I mean, come on. I'm unemployed but I still have a TV (no channels, but still), a VCR/DVD player with a bunch of movies to watch, a mini-van that is completely paid for, a computer (and a half) with a connection to the Internet (a dial up one, but still), and still plenty of food in the cupboards. We live in a four-bedroom house with a fenced yard, with an air-conditioner (which I don't turn on, but still), located in a great neighborhood with an elementary school for my kids to attend only four blocks away. I have a credit card and enough of a credit limit (not to mention a great credit score) to purchase just about anything I could possibly want AND have it delivered to my home without even breaking a sweat. I have books, games, a college education, family, religious values, clean water to drink, cook, bathe, and flush my toilet with, electricity, clothes washer and dryer, a refrigerator/freezer, and green grass (sort of).

And what do people in developing and war-torn countries have? Perspective. A firmer grasp on the realities of life. A belief that they aren't "entitled" to the "basics" of everyday American life.

Whew...I really didn't think I was in a mood for a rant. At least it wasn't about government. Don't get me wrong, I love my country. I've even been debating on trying to get an officer commission in the Air Force (have to wait until March for that one though...long story). I just get pent up when I hear people whining and complaining about all the crap other people aren't doing for them - especially when they have more than I do at this point.

What ever happened to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country"?