Our America

God Save the Flag

WASHED in the blood of the brave and the blooming,: Snatched from the altars of insolent foes,
Burning with star-fires, but never consuming,: Flash its broad ribbons of lily and rose.
Vainly the prophets of Baal would rend it,: Vainly his worshippers pray for its fall;
Thousands have died for it, millions defend it,: Emblem of justice and mercy to all;
Justice that reddens the sky with her terrors,: Mercy that comes with her white-handed train,
Soothing all passions, redeeming all errors,: Sheathing the sabre and breaking the chain.
Borne on the deluge of all usurpations,: Drifted our Ark o'er the desolate seas,
Bearing the rainbow of hope to the nations,: Torn from the storm-cloud and flung to the breeze!
God bless the Flag and its loyal defenders,: While its broad folds o'er the battle-field wave,
Till the dim star-wreath rekindle its splendors,: Washed from its stains in the blood of the brave!; Oliver Wendell Holmes

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I WILL NOT YIELD
And I will carry this. It is the police shield of a man named George Howard, who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others. It was given to me by his mom, Arlene, as a proud memorial to her son. This is my reminder of lives that ended, and a task that does not end.
I will not forget this wound to our country, or those who inflicted it. I will not yield. I will not rest. I will not relent in waging this struggle for the freedom and security of the American people.
The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.
Fellow citizens, we will meet violence with patient justice assured of the rightness of our cause, and confident of the victories to come. In all that lies before us, may God grant us wisdom, and may He watch over the United States of America.
Thank you.

-George W. Bush-

HOW WILL WE WIN THIS WAR?

Americans are asking: How will we fight and win this war?
We will direct every resource at our command every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war to the disruption and defeat of the global terror network.
This war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago, with its decisive liberation of territory and its swift conclusion. It will not look like the air war above Kosovo two years ago, where no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in combat.
Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have seen. It may include dramatic strikes, visible on television, and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.
Our nation has been put on notice: We are not immune from attack. We will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans.

-George W. Bush-

An open letter to terrorists:

Well, you hit the World Trade Center, but you missed America. You hit the Pentagon, but you missed America. You used helpless American bodies, to take out other American bodies, but like a poor marksman, you STILL missed America. Why? Because of something you guys will never understand. America isn’t about a building or two, not about financial centers, not about military centers, America isn’t about a place, America isn’t even about a bunch of bodies. America is about an IDEA. An idea, that you can go someplace where you can earn as much as you can figure out how to, live for the most part, like you envisioned living, and pursue Happiness. (No guarantees that you’ll reach it, but you can sure try!) Go ahead and whine your terrorist whine, and chant your terrorist litany: “If you can not see my point, then feel my pain.” This concept is alien to Americans. We live in a country where we don’t have to see your point. But you’re free to have one. We don’t have to listen to your speech. But you’re free to say one. I don’t understand where you got the strange idea that everyone has to agree with you. We don’t agree with each other in this country, almost as a matter of pride. We’re a collection of guys that don’t agree, called States. We united our individual states to protect ourselves from tyranny in the world. (Another idea, we made up on the spot. You CAN make it up as you go, when it’s your country. If you’re free enough.) Yeah, some of us may be fat, sloppy, easy-going goofs most of the time. That’s an unfortunate image to project to the world, but it comes of feeling free and easy about the world you live in. It’s unfortunate too, because people start to forget that when you attack Americans, they tend to fight like a cornered badger. The first we knew of the War of 1812, was when England burned Washington D.C. to the ground. Didn’t turn out like England thought it was going to, and it’s not going to turn out like you think, either. Sorry, but you’re not the first bully on our shores, just the most recent. No “Marquis of Queensbury” rules for Americans, either. We were the FIRST and so far, only country in the world to use nuclear weapons in anger. Horrific idea, nowadays? News for you bucko, it was back then too, but we used it anyway. Only had two of them in the whole world and we used ‘em both. Grandpa Jones worked on the Manhattan Project. Told me once, that right up until they threw the switch, the physicists were still arguing over whether the Uranium alone would fission, or whether it would start a fissioning chain reaction that would eat everything. But they threw the switch anyway, because we had a war to win. Does that tell you something about American resolve? So who just declared War on us? It would be nice to point to some real estate, like the “good old days.” Unfortunately, we’re probably at war with random camps, in far-flung places. Who think they’re safe. Just like the Barbary Pirates did. Better start sleeping with one eye open. There’s a spirit that tends to take over people who come to this country, looking for opportunity, looking for liberty, looking for freedom. Even if they misuse it. The Marielistas that Castro emptied out of his prisons, were overjoyed to find out how much freedom there was. First thing they did when they hit our shores, was run out and buy guns. The ones that didn’t end up dead, ended up in prisons. It was a big PITA then (especially in south Florida), but you’re only the newest PITA, not the first. You guys seem to be incapable of understanding that we don’t live in America, America lives in US! American Spirit is what it’s called. And killing a few thousand of us, or a few million of us, won’t change it. Most of the time, it’s a pretty happy-go-lucky kind of Spirit. Until we’re crossed in such a cowardly manner as you did, then it becomes an entirely different kind of Spirit. Wait until you see what we do with that Spirit, this time.

-Charles Brennan-