United 93 Provokes Sublimated Emotions
Some things happen in history which have an extra emotional punch, and you can remember where you were and what you were doing when the event occurred. For me that first happened with the assassination of President Kennedy. I was in a high school gymnasium at a pep rally on Nov. 22, 1963.
Where were you and what were were you doing when the first plane hit the World Trade Center? How about the second plane into the World Trade Center? The first plane struck the WTC at 8:46 A.M., New York time. It was still dark on the West Coast, and I became aware of the incident a few minutes later when my daughter called and stated that she had just seen the news on the television. I took no particular notice of the event other than acknowledging a tragedy, kissed my wife goodbye and bid her a safe trip as she drove to work. A few minutes later, she called to advise me that a second plane had hit the WTC. I knew immediately that the crashes were not coincidences and that terrorism was in-play. I just had no idea of the players. I proceeded to a local coffee shop where I watched the drama unfold until the Pentagon was struck. It was then that the full realization swept over me that this country was under attack by a determined enemy. The rest of the day became a whirlwind of telephone calls and meetings trying to determine, with very little evidence, if the threat would migrate to the West Coast. Even after United 93 crashed in Pennsylvania, a source of mine on the Federal level advised that an airplane originally heading toward Los Angeles was missing. City officials wanted to know what it was likely to target if it made its way to Southern California. Of greater concern was whether or not airplanes taking off from West Coast airports were going to be hijacked. Law enforcement agencies all over the country were trying to cope and reach out to contacts in other agencies. All the while, the rescue work had begun in Pennsylvania, Washington and New York. I had no time to neither reflect emotionally on all that was happening nor appreciate that which must be occurring with the FAA and military as they struggled to understand what was happening and to fashion a response. I also did not get in touch emotionally with the actual hijackings of the airplanes and the terror of the crew and passengers. I knew intellectually, but I must have sublimated the emotions as a coping mechanism to function analytically on 9/11/01 and the following weeks. Somehow the emotional connection did not occur until today when I saw the film “United 93.”
I wrote in a previous blog that Beverly Hills High School students should be seeing “United 93” instead of Al Gore’s global warming film. I said so because it is important to understand the threat of Islamo-fascism is far greater than any potential threat of global warming. I now realize that the movie “United 93” is far more than just that understanding. We must recognize the essential difference between our culture and the Islamo-fascist culture, which is intent on the killing of all of us. Our culture is one of life and survival. Theirs is one of death.
All of the four planes were hijacked and that means that all of the crews and passengers where attacked, terrorized, and ultimately killed. Some passengers of Untied 93 initially assumed that the hijackers would make demands and negotiate the release of the airplane and passengers. That must have been the thinking of the crews and passengers of the three prior planes that struck the WTC and the Pentagon. That was a reasonable assumption since the world had not yet witnessed mass murderers with a deliberate intent to die with the victims on such a large scale. The passengers and crew of United 93 had the advantage of learning about the three prior planes, and they correctly deduced that the intent of the hijackers was death to all. While there was little probability that the insurrection of the passengers and crew could succeed in wresting control of the airplane back from the hijackers, they did what had to be done and derailed the intent of the hijackers. That is the true American spirit.
Turn off your TV, get off your couch, forget about your sports team and your Hollywood idol, and go see “United 93.” Connect with the emotions and begin to understand what is happening in the world. Stand-up like a true American, and demand that our government get on a dedicated long-term war footing and face the Islamo-fascist threat. If you don’t have the backbone to stand-up, God help us if you win the next elections.
Where were you and what were were you doing when the first plane hit the World Trade Center? How about the second plane into the World Trade Center? The first plane struck the WTC at 8:46 A.M., New York time. It was still dark on the West Coast, and I became aware of the incident a few minutes later when my daughter called and stated that she had just seen the news on the television. I took no particular notice of the event other than acknowledging a tragedy, kissed my wife goodbye and bid her a safe trip as she drove to work. A few minutes later, she called to advise me that a second plane had hit the WTC. I knew immediately that the crashes were not coincidences and that terrorism was in-play. I just had no idea of the players. I proceeded to a local coffee shop where I watched the drama unfold until the Pentagon was struck. It was then that the full realization swept over me that this country was under attack by a determined enemy. The rest of the day became a whirlwind of telephone calls and meetings trying to determine, with very little evidence, if the threat would migrate to the West Coast. Even after United 93 crashed in Pennsylvania, a source of mine on the Federal level advised that an airplane originally heading toward Los Angeles was missing. City officials wanted to know what it was likely to target if it made its way to Southern California. Of greater concern was whether or not airplanes taking off from West Coast airports were going to be hijacked. Law enforcement agencies all over the country were trying to cope and reach out to contacts in other agencies. All the while, the rescue work had begun in Pennsylvania, Washington and New York. I had no time to neither reflect emotionally on all that was happening nor appreciate that which must be occurring with the FAA and military as they struggled to understand what was happening and to fashion a response. I also did not get in touch emotionally with the actual hijackings of the airplanes and the terror of the crew and passengers. I knew intellectually, but I must have sublimated the emotions as a coping mechanism to function analytically on 9/11/01 and the following weeks. Somehow the emotional connection did not occur until today when I saw the film “United 93.”
I wrote in a previous blog that Beverly Hills High School students should be seeing “United 93” instead of Al Gore’s global warming film. I said so because it is important to understand the threat of Islamo-fascism is far greater than any potential threat of global warming. I now realize that the movie “United 93” is far more than just that understanding. We must recognize the essential difference between our culture and the Islamo-fascist culture, which is intent on the killing of all of us. Our culture is one of life and survival. Theirs is one of death.
All of the four planes were hijacked and that means that all of the crews and passengers where attacked, terrorized, and ultimately killed. Some passengers of Untied 93 initially assumed that the hijackers would make demands and negotiate the release of the airplane and passengers. That must have been the thinking of the crews and passengers of the three prior planes that struck the WTC and the Pentagon. That was a reasonable assumption since the world had not yet witnessed mass murderers with a deliberate intent to die with the victims on such a large scale. The passengers and crew of United 93 had the advantage of learning about the three prior planes, and they correctly deduced that the intent of the hijackers was death to all. While there was little probability that the insurrection of the passengers and crew could succeed in wresting control of the airplane back from the hijackers, they did what had to be done and derailed the intent of the hijackers. That is the true American spirit.
Turn off your TV, get off your couch, forget about your sports team and your Hollywood idol, and go see “United 93.” Connect with the emotions and begin to understand what is happening in the world. Stand-up like a true American, and demand that our government get on a dedicated long-term war footing and face the Islamo-fascist threat. If you don’t have the backbone to stand-up, God help us if you win the next elections.
posted by Paul Coambs | 11:03 PM
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