A Friend of mine sent me a copy of a letter he has sent the editor of his local newspaper. Once again the message is a clear one. All of us should not only read it but be honest with ourselves many if not most of us made the same mistakes. Thanks Scotty for waking me up.
I'm responsible for the terrorist attack!
I'm responsible for the terrorist attack! Yes that's correct I am, and I'll tell you why. Nearly every day since November 1967 I have tried to be politically correct and to avoid those conflicts that arose as a result of my four years military service and my support for our nation and our flag.
One of many examples that I am particularly embarrassed by happened about 8 years ago. We were traveling through northern Pennsylvania and stopped at a gas station for fuel. There was a Middle Eastern looking individual at the pump next to us who was also fueling and I greeted him, as I am prone to do since I can't keep my mouth shut. He nodded and we both went about the business of fueling our cars. I washed the windshield and wasn't paying much attention to anything else until I noticed that he was checking his oil and he used a small AMERICAN FLAG to wipe the dipstick. He then proceeded to discard the flag in the trashcan. I was angry and said something to my wife but failed to call him on the incident, as I didn't want a fight. When he pulled away I recovered the flag from the trash and I have it to this day. I did nothing and I am embarrassed to this day.
This was a small event and probably means nothing in the big scheme of things but, if each and every one of us had taken the time over the past thirty or so years to defend our country from this type of small attack maybe we would not have seen Tuesday's terrorist attack. Why? Well, because the terrorists and all who would destroy our country would have known that we were, are and will be ready, willing, and able to defend our neighbors and ourselves. We wouldn't need to "go to war" because there wouldn't be any war to go to.
Over the years I had become a little less concerned with avoiding the inevitable fight that results from standing up for my opinions, for standing up for what I think is right, for standing up for our country. But I hadn't changed enough. On Tuesday I learned what a wimp I had been. I apologize. I will not be so meek in the future. I am an AMERICAN and I am not going to take it any more!
H.L. "Scotty" Scott
AMERICAN
