I Have NOT Forgotten!

Well....it is rant day again!!!! Of course it seems like everyday for the last two weeks has been rant day for me. Kind of interesting don't you think? Once again I have many things I could rant about....in fact the rants seem to be coming out my pores. However today's rant was a no brainer.

A decade ago tomorrow, the USA changed forever. Anyone above the age of five (5) at the time remembers where they were and what they were doing that day.....and at the exact time when they heard that the World Trade Center had taken a direct hit from a plane. That day changed all our lives. Some lost loved ones, some were permanently damaged either mentally, physically or both and many either gave their lives or risked their lives so that they could make sure that there were as many survivors as possible. It was a day of great devastation for this country which we have yet to recover from as it was the beginning of a down turned economy and the end of a presidency before it even got started. But in the days and weeks that followed.....it was also a time of great blessings. People were found alive and this country pulled together like it hadn't since the World War II era. For a brief moment.....we were a country united with one sole purpose.......to fight for our freedom and to stop that which had crippled us. Regardless of your religious or non-religious beliefs, people hit their knees, they filled churches and it was obvious that there was a power greater than man at work here.

Out of this tragedy.....many hero's emerged, such as Todd Beamer and the passengers of United Flight 93 and ALL of the first responders to the crash sites as well as all those who spent days, weeks and months first pulling out survivors, then recovering the dead and finally all those left with the clean up after such destruction. And let us not forget the men and women who flocked to military recruitment offices and signed up to protect this country and ensure that a situation such as this never occur again....and all the men and women already serving who bravely deployed as soon as "war" was declared. Yes....we lost much, but we gained too. We gained patriotism, a united country and many, many hero's. But this was all a decade ago.

Skip ahead to 2011 and the world is a much different place. Tomorrow there is to be a  10th Anniversary Memorial at ground zero. But why I ask? Why are we remembering when it seems that all we have really done is forgotten. We have forgotten that a horrible situation could have been even worse if not for all the first responders of police and firemen that day. We have forgotten that many of those brave men and women lost their lives trying to save others. How are we showing our thanks as a country for going above and beyond the call of duty? The surviving first responders are not invited to the memorial. How is that for gratitude? But it doesn't stop there. We apparently have forgotten that like it or not many survived this disaster not by determination or luck, but by the grace of God. He too is not invited tomorrow....nor is His name to be uttered, honored or thanked. And finally.....we have forgotten that we are not suppose to be a country of divisions but one country supported by all. This last couple of years has proven that this is no longer the case....and with this lapse in memory, it seems that we have also forgotten all the men and women who have died trying to keep us free, whole and safe and all those still serving fighting what seems to be an unwinnable war. I am angry beyond words right now that after a decade we have forgotten so much and yet we are calling tomorrow.....a memorial.

So now begins the rant! Mr. Bloomberg and the powers that be pull your head out of your nether regions and do some remembering! Remember that your great city would not be back up and running if not for those first responders. Remember that many more of your citizens might not be here today if not for the first responders. And remember that those men and women put their lives on the line every day for your city and your citizens and they deserve better. I find it amazing that when you need them...they are invaluable, but when they should be honored....they are ignored, forgotten and brushed aside. I don't care if for one or two hours your city is shut down so that these men and women could attend this memorial.....they should be there and you should be the one making sure they are. If not for them.....just what kind of city would you have? I am ashamed that you are the mayor of the biggest city in  my country and I am even more ashamed that more people aren't speaking up and speaking out. Shame on New York for allowing the likes of Bloomberg to ignore these people. It just shows how much we have forgotten.

And what about God? It is supposedly a country of free thought and free speech and yet there will be no talk of God tomorrow during the memorial. No religious clergy are invited out of respect for..............? Really Mr. Bloomberg.....who are we respecting. Are we respecting the 83% who claim Christianity in the United States? I don't think so. We weren't afraid to get on our knees and pray a decade ago. We weren't afraid to ask for God's help and mercy then.....but now, He nor His name are allowed at this memorial. The countries biggest city has openly shunned God in order not to offend the 17% of the country that is either a non-Christian religion or atheist. Yeah....that sounds about right. All I can say is.....Mr. Bloomberg.....your city has turned it's back on God.....you better hope He has not done the same to you!

The rant continues as I point my finger directly at our current POTUS! When Bush was in office, he was set up to fail from almost the moment of his presidency.....but even at his worst, this country was never divided as it is now. And even when he knew that his presidency had hit rock bottom, he still fought to keep this country as united as possible and in most cases taking responsibility for his actions as president. What we have now though is something the likes this country has never seen. We have a man in office who takes every opportunity to divide this nation further. He aligns himself with people who resort to name calling certain sectors and who have their own interests in mind....not the countries. He has yet to take responsibility for any negativity he has created nor the damage he has done in just three (3) years and most of his campaign promises have yet to be delivered upon. Because of him.....unemployment is high, the national debt is higher and the moral of the American people is so low it is rivaling that of the Great Depression. This was not the case a decade ago when people didn't see each other as Democrats or Republicans....but only as fellow Americans. We were all united with one goal....our safety and our freedom. This is no longer the case. Again.....we have forgotten.

Perhaps this countries greatest memory lapse has occurred where our military is concerned. In post 9/11, recruitment numbers soared. Men and women flocked to recruitment offices determined to sign up and put their lives on the line so that this country.....their country could remain free from another such attack. This trend continued for several years after 9/11 as people who were still kids when 9/11 occurred never forgot that day and as they began reaching their 18th birthday they headed to the nearest recruitment office. Now....a decade later, this country has buried literally thousands of young men and women who gave their lives for this country. Spouses have been left widowed, children have been left without mothers and fathers and parents have been left without their children. These people were not suppose to die in vain....but apparently they have. Apparently like the first responders, God and our country unity.....they have been forgotten. My heart breaks!

I am angry! I am angry at the POTUS whose name I find it hard to even utter. I am angry at Mr. Bloomberg who in  my opinion because of his current actions does not deserve the title "mayor". Most of all I am angry at the people of this country. I am angry that we have once again become complacent and that we seem to have lost the fire that makes us strong. Why does it take a tragedy to get us off our laurels and become strong? Why are we allowing the few to take what we love and destroy it....to tell the hero's they are not worthy, to push God away, to pull us apart and to turn our backs on those who fight for our very freedoms to be so lack luster? I am ashamed, I am angry and I am speaking out. This has to stop and the only way it can is by one voice turning into two and two turning into four until finally.....our voices are too loud to be ignored.

So let me start.....I have NOT forgotten! Have you?

Happy Saturday!