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Garrett O'Hara
In the Wake of the Eleventh
09/11/2002
I woke up one morning to the smell of the usually hot and stuffy air which has characterized my bedroom ever since I moved here in 1998. I ate my usual breakfast, read the paper, and prepared myself for yet another day of my high school education. I learned shortly thereafter of exactly what had happened as I was preparing for an ordinary day.
And what did the vast majority of teachers do? They stopped class! But why do I criticize this move when we're watching history unfold? My reasoning is that students should be reading the paper in the morning, and the evening news in the, well, evening. The principal was absolutely correct in his decision-making on that fateful September morning. School is for education. To let the terrorists cease classes nationwide for twenty-four hours is to surrender!
We have let the terrorists take too many of the virtues for which this nation and its flag stand, as well as ceasing our lives when we simply ought to let not these events affect our daily lives. Instead of taking this opportunity to use this event for the purpose of a positive change in our virtues, priorities, and morals, we have allowed many examples of the opposite to dominate, let alone exist, in American society. We've allowed the federal government to spy on more aspects of our lives than ever before. We've allowed them to launch military strikes without the congressional consent of the citizenry. Worst of all, we have tolerated the government's deprivation of one's inherent and essential right to personally defend one's life, limb, and liberty through the use of a weapon. In fact, if the Second Amendment had been enforced aboard those four aircraft, the top story on September 11, 2002 would have been the disappearance of Chandra Levy, rather than 2,500+ Americans.
I know what many of you are probably thinking right now reading this. Will not a fired bullet punch through an aircraft's fuselage easily? Of course it will. Nevertheless, planes punch holes through buildings, too. I'd personally prefer the former, thank you.
Answer the following two questions for me. First, would Mohammed Atta support arming pilots? Second, would he support arming every single passenger? I'm absolutely serious. Would the ringleader of the 9/11 hijackers support arming every single passenger aboard an aircraft? If you're not convinced yet, allow me to explain.
Why do Palestinians commit suicide bombings, outside of their evil intent? Why can't they just grab an assault rifle and pump everybody with lead? Simply put, Israelis are armed. If somebody pulls out an assault rifle, he won't even have time to aim before someone else kills him. This is the reason for the advent of suicide bombing. It's easier to push a button than to even get the chance to pull a trigger. Now let me ask you another question: is it easy to get a bomb onboard a plane these days? This is where my argument would have a hole. Our famed "shoe-bomber," in fact, was able to get explosives onboard an aircraft. However, if we could perhaps scan for explosives, including inside shoes, my plan would have no holes, perhaps except for the 5+ holes in the body of any terrorist who even dares to attempt to hijack a plane.
And even for the gun-shy, what about knives? Sais? Ninja stars? Baseball bats? Hockey sticks? Drink glasses made of actual glass? Sorry, right now you probably can't bring those, either. Do you see what I mean? We Americans are quickly losing our rights to government bureaucracy. It's time to take a stand.
| Copyright 2003 Garrett O'Hara | All worldwide rights reserved |
