Remembering things past — the 9/11 round-up

I have to admit to a great act of cowardice this morning:  I was afraid to turn my computer on.  I’m still a little leery here, treating the internet as a potential harbinger of horrible news.  I feared, of course, that I would awake to reports of another attack, just as I awoke to reports of that first attack exactly ten years ago today.  There was bad news (my thoughts are with the 77 troops wounded in the latest attack in Afghanistan) but, so far, the internet hasn’t reported a 9/11 redux, and I pray it stays that way.

I also knew that turning my computer on would mean a day that is a remembrance of things past.  For my kids, it was the thing that happened way back then, when they were too little to have awareness.  For me, though, it’s as raw a wound now as it was then.  Examining that bloody hole in my psyche, I found myself thinking of the hackneyed phrase “lack of closure.”  The WWII generation had closure.  It had a vigorously fought, balls to the wall, all-encompassing, popularly supported war, which was concluded with complete victory.  By August 1945, a “mere” four years after the nightmare began, the bad guys were utterly defeated. People turned their back on the past and looked to the future.

We haven’t had that.  For the past ten years, we’ve fought a three front war:  Iraq, Afghanistan, and American hearts and minds.  It’s this last war that’s been the most damaging, and I say that with the greatest of respect to those who died, who were wounded, who served, and who still serve in our American forces.  Even as our troops fling themselves in front of the guns, the rot at home is so deep, it ensures that our 9/11 wound remains an open, festering sore.  We have no closure, we have no future, we have only ten years of internal agitation and self-loathing.

But still, we try, and there are so many in America who fight the good fight, not just on the battlefields of the body, but also on the battlefields of the mind.  This post is a small effort to catch up with those who are engaged in the war on the Fifth Column, the one we fight here at home.  I know that many of your favorite internet destinations have devoted themselves today to 9/11 remembrances (e.g., American Thinker, National Review or Pajamas Media), so I won’t tag individual posts from those sites here.  Before I begin, you should know that the Anchoress has a massive round-up of links, as does Melissa Clouthier and Kim Priestap.

As is always the case with me, this round-up is an ongoing thing, as I come across links, so please check back often.  Here’s a start:

Gotta start with my own big, thoughtful post on the subject.

Melissa Clouthier’s 9/11:  No, America is not over it yet

The New Editor reminded me that he asked, a long time ago, What if the September 11 attack was thwarted?

Noisy Room’s Remembering 9-11 — 10 years of war

Michelle Malkin, who has been at the forefront of the war at home, hasn’t forgotten

The Pink Flamingo Bar has a video montage

Even the young’uns know that the world changed that day, as Bruce Kesler’s 11 year old son demonstrates.

At Red State, just the names, the long, long list of names.

Lauren would have been happy to learn that her beloved husband has managed to move on.

The Razor, always thoughtful, thinks about the 9/11 legacy.

CAC, at Ace of Spades, writes about the visceral horror of the falling man.  And ArthurK, also writing at Ace of Spades, comments on the 9/11 singularity.

Another link to myself, but after all these years, I cannot forget Brian Ahearn, a 9/11 firefighter, nor my friend Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas.

If you like Twitter, soccerdhg (Soccer Dad) has created a hashtag you can follow:  #Essential911Reading (and use yourself, of course).

This one isn’t quite a remembrance, unless it helps you (as it did me) remember who America’s enemies are.