Current Events: April 2006 Archives

Captain Ed at Captain’s Quarters has a great idea to help those of us who can’t serve (or who have already served) to support our troops against the liberals who hate them. It’s called the 101st Fighting Keyboardists. Let Captain Ed explain a little more:

Our friends on the port side of the blogosphere have had quite a time tossing around funny little nicknames for those of us who support the war on terror and use our blogs to express our convictions about it. We’ve seen the names here at CQ in the comments section — the term “chickenhawk” has appeared more than once, and others in the blogosphere have assigned us to a unit called the 101st Fighting Keyboardists.

I’ve thought about that for a while, wondering what exactly about both epithets appear so fascinating to left-wing bloggers. As a middle-aged grandfather supporting a chronically ill wife, I have few options for doing my part in the war on terror. After 9/11, I spent weeks looking into different options for service while trying to balance my family obligations. Our family found out just three weeks after the attack that the Little Admiral would soon join us, and the implications of terrorism and war weighed heavily on my mind. I resolved to use the skills I had — writing — to make the case for fighting a forward strategy against terrorists. Eventually that led me to this blog, but in the interim I argued for a continued muscular offensive against the Islamofascists that had murdered thousands of our fellow Americans.

Is that the same as military service? Of course not. The men and women of the military do the real fighting, and we salute them and support them by supporting their mission. Milbloggers give us the best of both worlds by not only defending our nation and fighting (and beating) terrorists around the globe, but also by reporting on the fight first hand. There is honor in engaging in public debate for policies which we believe are in our nation’s best interest as well. For many of us, we know that without presenting our arguments in the national forum, many in the media and the public will quickly overpower the debate and threaten the policies we feel give us the best long-term opportunity to defeat terrorism and the states that fund and shelter them.

There was an interesting post yesterday by Karl at Leaning Straight Up entitled Reflections on United 93:  Why you should see the movie and why I won’t. Here are a few teasers — go read the full post for his thoughtful reflections and you’ll see why I added him to my blogroll today.

The story of how the passengers of Flight 93 is a grand epic on some senses and a tragedy in others.  To look at it in the terms of the “hero” film one can easily see the elements that make it compelling:  The drama was playing out live, via cell phones and recordings as the passengers of the flight found themselves not only hijacked but due to the timing, forewarned as to what there fate would be, and in knowing that, they took fate in their own hands,

That immediately brings many conflicting emotions and images.  For the families, the heart wrenching feeling of loss and despair, as the families knew their loved ones were doomed.  There must have been an intense feeling of the inevitable, the waiting for their deaths, then a rush of adrenalin as the revolt takes place, pride then fear as contact is lost, and lingering hope that is shattered with the news of the crash.  Hollywood prides itself on movies that take you on “an emotional roller coaster” but the reality of this event makes that seem tame.

To those of us not connected as closely to the flight, we can say we shared their pain, but it is a lie.  I cannot share any of that, and moreover, I have to deal with my own personal shame: Would I have had the guts to do the same?  If faced with my certain death, would I have hidden in a corner, or struck back against the hijackers?  I can hope in my life, if I am faced with that manner of choice, that I would be remembered with such pride.  I can hope.