On this morning of the eve of 9/11, 2006 we find that ABC has apparently edited out an entire hour of its docudrama Path to 9/11. Guess we’ll see tonight, and later, when the Blogosphere hammers them for their acquiescence to the Clintonistas in our midst. But, even if the full measure of the Clinton administration’s responsibility for allowing Al Qaeda to grow and fully develop on its watch has been removed from the film, the nature of our enemy and its ruthless goals and ambitions will most assuredly remain intact. That in itself will be a telling recrimination to the Clinton legacy, and a pox on the Democrats’ hope of gaining control of the Congress in the upcoming elections.

However, rememberence of the tragedy of the events of 9/11 (WTC towers falling, Pentagon impacted, Flight 93 downed by its brave passengers) leading to the death of over 3,000 Americans and others, is only a part of it. In Friday’s Opinion Journal, columnist Peggy Noonan looks deep into the human spirit, which in the self-awareness of the few moments of time left, manifests the highest and best elements of what it is to be human — at least in western civilization.

There was the amazing acceptance. I spoke this week with a medical doctor who told me she’d seen many people die, and many “with grace and acceptance.” The people on the planes didn’t have time to accept, to reflect, to think through; and yet so many showed the kind of grace you see in a hospice.

Peter Hanson, a passenger on United Airlines Flight 175 called his father. “I think they intend to go to Chicago or someplace and fly into a building,” he said. “Don’t worry, Dad–if it happens, it will be very fast.” On the same flight, Brian Sweeney called his wife, got the answering machine, and told her they’d been hijacked. “Hopefully I’ll talk to you again, but if not, have a good life. I know I’ll see you again some day.”

There was Tom Burnett’s famous call from United Flight 93. “We’re all going to die, but three of us are going to do something,” he told his wife, Deena. “I love you, honey.”

These were people saying, essentially, In spite of my imminent death, my thoughts are on you, and on love. I asked a psychiatrist the other day for his thoughts, and he said the people on the planes and in the towers were “accepting the inevitable” and taking care of “unfinished business.” “At death’s door people pass on a responsibility–’Tell Billy I never stopped loving him and forgave him long ago.’ ‘Take care of Mom.’ ‘Pray for me, Father. Pray for me, I haven’t been very good.’ ” They address what needs doing.

This reminded me of that moment when Todd Beamer of United 93 wound up praying on the phone with a woman he’d never met before, a Verizon Airfone supervisor named Lisa Jefferson. She said later that his tone was calm. It seemed as if they were “old friends,” she later wrote. They said the Lord’s Prayer together. Then he said “Let’s roll.”

Funny, looking at this from two perspectives –

“I did not have sex with that woman” and, “I think they ought to tell the truth…I just want people to tell the truth” — Bill Clinton (At one point a quote used in the film, and the 2nd is Clinton’s reaction to what he says are lies in the film.)

“Let’s roll” — Todd Beamer on Flight 93

[The Path to 9/11] “depicts scenes that never happened, events that never took place, decisions that were never made and conversations that never occurred.” — Madeline Albright, of (Madeleine Albright clinking glasses with Kim Jong Il) fame.

“I just wanted to let you know I love you.” — Melissa Harrington, from one of the WTC towers just before it collapsed.

[Regarding the failure to authorize the killing of bin Laden], “no such episode ever occurred, nor did anything like it.” — Sandy Berger, former Clinton national security adviser — convicted for stuffing classified documents stolen from the National Archives down his pants and then later destroying them.

. . . Sandy Berger (search) pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in federal court. Berger, who served as President Clinton’s national security adviser, is acknowledging that it wasn’t an honest mistake and that he intentionally took and destroyed copies of classified documents from the National Archives (search) and cut them up with scissors.

Berger acknowledged to U.S. Magistrate Deborah Robinson that he intentionally took and deliberately destroyed three copies of the same document dealing with terror threats during the 2000 millennium (search) celebration. He then lied about it to Archives staff when they told him the documents were missing.

“I don’t know if we’ll make it out. I want to tell you that I love you and I love the kids.” — Capt. Walter Hynes of the New York Fire Department’s Ladder 13. (He didn’t make it out . . .)

Today is the 5th anniversary of the last day of the world as it once was. Tomorrow will be the 5th yearly reminder that it will never be that way again — On 9/11/2001 the world as we knew it went away, never to return. Some of us understand that, it looks like many never will — until it’s too late . . . (db)

Technorati Tags: The Path To 9/11, ABC, Peggy Noonan, Opinion Journal, Michelle Malkin, Hugh Hewitt

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 10th, 2006 at 10:36 am and is filed under A Post 9/11 World, Human Persistance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.  |   Print This Post  |   Email This Post

Recently Posted:

• “Young Mattie Fein” Political Ad — Hot Linkage & More . . .
• Just Bloggin’ Around: VJ Day Video, Ground Zero Mosque, Obaminations & More . . .
• We The People — An Open Letter To President Obama
• Remembering Annie & Some Hard-Life Lessons
• Obama’s Nightmare In The Gulf
• Obama’s Exectuive Order Banning Federal Funding of Abortion Proves To Be Just More B.S.
• American Women — Takin’ Names, Kickin’ Butt!
• Now Obama’s F’ing Up NASA!
• Happy 4th of July Y’all!
• VOTE!