I was still asleep when my phone rang 9 years ago and my dad told me to turn on the TV, we were under attack as a nation. I remember tuning in as the first twin tower burned in time to see the second plane, or rather missile, collide with the second tower. The rest of that day and really the next week is a blur. 24/7 news coverage ratings soared as all of us as Americans anxiously awaited news from the site of the greatest mass murder in our history. 9 years have passed since then, so where exactly are we?
Are we safer, or more at risk? We're still engaged in a seemingly endless war in Afghanistan. We have ended so-called military operations in Iraq although 50,000 of our troops remain there. Radical Islam is still radical and their stated aim is to destroy us, Israel and our culture. Iran appears within grasp of a nuclear weapon. The Palestinian people say they will not recognize the Jewish state of Israel dooming any potential agreement in the middle east. Islam is quickly becoming a prominent and in some cases dictating minority in many European nations. While we have avoided Islamic attacks, Europe has not. Pakistan, already a nuclear power, appears ripe for Islamic takeover. If you draw a cartoon of Mohamed your are an infidel worthy of death. If you burn a Koran, worldwide violence is threatened it is so offensive, yet if you build an Islamic mosque where Muslims attacked us in the name of Allah it is not. Bibles are burned by our military and no one whispers a peep in Afghanistan. Where exactly are we, better off or worse off?
We have not endured a major attack by Islam in the United States since 9/11. We have had a Muslim army officer gun down innocents, and several bombers and other plots that have been foiled. Usama Bin Laden still is free, Saddam Hussein is dead. Attempts to appease Islam have been greeted with even greater boldness on the religions part. They are not the problem, we are, in spite of their refusal to distance themselves from the so-called radicals in their ranks. So where exactly are we?
Well, 9 years after 9/11/01, we are pretty much exactly where we were then. Islam is still the greatest physical threat to our existence and way of life. And you know what, we need to accept this. This is not going to change. You cannot negotiate with or appease someone who says their goal is to destroy you. There is no peace to be had. Until Jesus Christ returns for His own we will be in a battle, both physical and spiritual, with Islam. Will we publicly acknowledge this, no. Will that change the fact it is the truth, no. For as long as we are alive or on this earth, Islam, all of it until the so-called moderates officially distance themselves publicly and consistently from the "radicals," will be our enemy. Pessimistic, maybe. Realistic, yes.
Jesus tells us to love our enemies, so we must love them as God loves us. But we also must remain prepared and proactive in our own self defense. Where are we after 9 years? Exactly where we were on 9/11/01. At war with a belief system that has sworn to destroy us. That's not going to change, no matter how much we give. Will we as a nation ever accept this? Probably not, but that does not change the truth.
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