Once in our lifetime, we experience a life changing event. Something that remains etched in our minds forever. Something that despite everything we try to do to forget, we never can.

Personally, I think it happens in our youth, when we're just impressionable enough to be influenced by such an event. It changes what path we may have carved out into something totally new and undefined.

It is that lust to fix the horrifically defined by our undefined roles, that it causes us to come together as a people, a nation, a country. We ultimately define ourselves by our camaraderie and our resolve established throughout our history as a people.

Regardless of political affiliation, religious belief and personal bias we must remember everything our friends, neighbors and even some of our enemies do for our survival everyday. Be it just or unjust, willing or unwilling, fair or unfair we are blessed to be among a nation of freedom.

That's what makes our states united and our nation whole, us.

"On a bright summer morning, under a clear and cloudless sky... Terror struck. To grasp the enormity of it is almost too much for the heart to bear. September 11, 2001... It is a date that will be etched in history, engraved in stone and in our memories. The day of the attack on America."

- Dan Rather

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4OeYvOdL8o

We will never forget.

"It is that lust to fix the horrifically defined by our undefined roles, that it causes us to come together as a people, a nation, a country. We ultimately define ourselves by our camaraderie and our resolve established throughout our history as a people.

Regardless of political affiliation, religious belief and personal bias we must remember everything our friends, neighbors and even some of our enemies do for our survival everyday. Be it just or unjust, willing or unwilling, fair or unfair we are blessed to be among a nation of freedom. "

And I sincerely hope that we can find a way to get back to that cohesion, as a society, as Americans. I really pray for that day, that day that we can put together aside the political bickering and whining amongst ourselves, in here, out on the streets, as a society in general. I also pray that it doesn't take a life-altering tragedy like 9-11, or Katrina, or any other disaster, natural or intentional, for that togetherness and common love and concern for our fellow man to come out. For our love of country. For compassion.

Absolutely.

I cringe every time I see divisive politics, wrapped in 9/11. IMHO, that kind of thing should be illegal.

9/11 was one of the most unifying forces in the history of the United States of America, and certainly the most unifying since at least Pearl Harbor. The left and the right, black and white, gay and straight, ALL sides put down their pitchforks and sticks and bad blood and words and UNIFIED AS ONE NATION, committed.

What has happened?

I am not going to turn this into a Bush-pissing contest. What has happened has happened ... nothing we can do about yesterday. I just hope that everyone takes this one day to reflect on how all our lives changed, how our nation changed, how the entire world changed that one sunny morning in Manhattan.

Is this too much to ask?

My comments can be found here:
http://feedback.pdxradio.com/show.cgi?tpc=2186&post=199291#POST199291

Absolutely Horrible and VERY SAD!
I can still remember what I was doing when I found out the tragic news. I was doing the typical morning routine- Shower, shit, and shave. My girl came running in and told me the news.
Thank GOD BUSH WILL BE GONE SOON!!!!!

I never turn on the TV in the mornings. But on that day for some reason I sat down and turned on the news only moments after it starting breaking in on every channel. Watched with chin on floor as the second plane hit. I then called and woke people up. I listened to the news on an anxious morning commute not fully understanding what I had just witnessed but knew that the US had been brutally and diliberately attacked. Not much work was accomplished on that infamous day! Despicable, Diabolical, Reprehensible act of terror against non-military targets. We Will Never Forget or Forgive! Terrorists will have no rest, no peace, and will be hunted down wherever, whenever, and however we need, so long as they breath!

I too will never forget where I was and what I was doing. It like today was a Tuesday.

I had gotten up early that morning because I had a 7:30 flight to Ontario, CA to catch.

I went into my home office to print my boarding pass, and like Darktemper, I don't usually turn on the TV in the morning, but for some reason I did this morning.

I watched with horror and disbelief. At first I wasn't sure if it was real or exactly what I was seeing. It took a while for it to sink in that it wasn't just an accident. The second plane solidified that it was real and intentional.

Needless to say, I didn't make my flight to Ontario that morning.

I second and third and however many times it takes, Darktemper's words above; We Will Never Forget or Forgive! Terrorists will have no rest, no peace, and will be hunted down wherever, whenever, and however we need, so long as they breath!

Edit Add: I hope EVERYBODY here and across our land is proudly flying their American Flag today.

I too have my flag out today. I will never forget that day, and how I was getting ready for work, when my sister called and said "turn on the TV" just after the first plane hit. I hope never to have that feeling again.

I have worn a sterling 9/11 bracelet every day since the fall of 2001 and it honors this hero, whom I never met but was a fellow Deadhead and Delta employee (as is my sister) before he joined the FDNY:

http://quo-vadam.blogspot.com/2006/09/robert-linnane-ill-meet-you-on-run.html

My alarm went off at 6:20am that morning. I normally wouldn't be up that early, but I had an 8am meeting. At that time, I'm pretty sure my alarm was set on Mix 107.5, and the first thing I heard was that "America was under attack". Being groggy, I was like WTF?? So I turned on the TV and sure enough, there it was. I started calling everyone I knew to wake up and turn on the TV. At this point, I believe both towers and the Pentagon had been hit, and there were still rumors of more planes being unaccounted for. So, I emailed my boss and let her know I was skipping the morning meeting and stayed in bed until 11am watching the news. I finally went into work at about noon, and we were told that the COO of our company was possibly on the flight that crashed into the Pentagon. Obviously not much was going on as everyone was in the lunch room watching the news. I'll always remember that I had an appointment that afternoon, and I called that person to see if we were still going to meet (I wanted to cancel), and his comment was "business must go on". In light of the day's events, I thought to myself about what a cold cocksucker that guy was to make a comment like that, because at this point, there was talk of 25,000 people being killed in the WTC. When I returned from that appointment, the flight manifest confirmed that our COO was on that flight, and that his car was still parked at the airport parking lot. I had just partied with him 4 months prior in Puerto Rico during a work trip. I couldn't believe it!

Fast forward to today, 6 years later, and I'm completely disgusted with where we are as a nation. George W. Bush was handed the biggest opportunity any US President has ever had, and he failed miserably. He used 9/11 to consolidate Executive power, he used it to gain political power for the GOP, he used it to strip our citizens of their rights, and worst of all, he used it to start an illegal war. To date, 3774 US troops have lost their lives, 27,767 US troops have been maimed, many severely, and $450 billion has been wasted, with us spending $3 billion a week moving forward. And every single penny of that money has been borrowed from countries like China and US taxpayers will someday pay that money back, with interest.

I have no doubt that the lasting legacy of Bush's presidency will be this lost opportunity of our post 9/11 world, and the terrible wrong turns Bush took this country on as a result of his selfishness, ignorance, and stubborness. Had we had a real leader in office, either party, I'm certain we would be better off today than we find ourselves 6 years after this preventable disaster. I'll always wonder if someone else was president, would they have done more given the warning signs that popped up a month before?

I'm sad to admit that my American flag will not fly until January 20, 2009 when our country's nightmare finally ends and a new chapter of renewal can begin.

Yeah, right.

Absolutely he's right.

This will go down as one of the biggest leadership failures of all time.

Yeah, it's a big deal.

Wow, I was **TRYING** to not turn it into a anti-Bush campaign ... so much for that idea! hah

Tough isn't it?

For what it's worth, your non-divisive message resonates. It's the right way to move forward.

I don't think ignoring how we got here does anybody any good though. Divisive or not, fixing problems means owning up to them; otherwise, it's just a coping exercise that's largely useless in the longer term.

I realize that KSKD, I am just trying to get everyone to remember the spirit of the day, WHY we look back in remembrance and with heavy hearts.

I know that so much shit has happened with our curent administration since 9/11, and most all of it has been what the majority of Americans deem a collosal failure. That said, I am trying to take the politics out of the day, the hyperbole and "he-said-she-said" and partisan bickering. That day brought ALL OF US TOGETHER, Republicans and Democrats on the steps of the Capital building singing God Bless America, hand in hand, with one common thought, one common purpose.

I know we can't ignore the past, because ignoring history leads to repeating history. I just would like for ONE thread to not turn into a giant anti-Bush, anti-Herb and DJ and Nwokie thread. On this one day, that is all I ask.

For Gods sakes, can't we all just get along?!?

Brian, Well said. Thank you.

Brian said>>>
That day brought ALL OF US TOGETHER, Republicans and Democrats on the steps of the Capital building singing God Bless America, hand in hand, with one common thought, one common purpose.

And it should have stayed that way!

Absolutely we can get along.

I've no problem with the entire discussion. It's all relevant to the day.

I didn't want this to turn into a political debate and sure as I feared, it happened.

I want to hear where you were when this all happened. Don't politicize it, don't blame anyone for things that happened afterward. Remember the fallen, remember those who gave their lives to look for those in the two towers.

Bang on Bush in another thread (hell I even may join you). I fly my flag today for the fallen of 9/11.

I was woken up by my assistant program director. He said one plane had crashed. I remember exactly where I was standing, in front of the kitchen stove. I turned on the tv and moments later the 2nd plane hit. I was glued to the TV for hours after. I have never been more transfixed to tv coverage in my life.

The other memory was we had a directive from Clear Channel to run Rush Limbaugh on atleast one of our FM music stations. We all kind of scratched our heads on that one...as I recall, about halfway through his show, CC called it off and directed us to run any longform coverage we could get our hands on instead. `

I was getting ready for work. Kids pointed at the TV and asked why the plane crashed into the buildings.

We were there for the next 4 hours, just watching...

If nothing else today should be a day to put aside our differencs and reflect on the events of this day in our history September 11th 2001. Observe a moment of silence for those who perished, and be appreciative to the men and women, sons and daughters, moms and dad, friends and neighbors who are serving, served, or will serve our great nation in military and civilian service. It does not and should not matter if you wave the American flag with your right hand or your left, what should matter is that we live in the greatest nation on the face of this planet and she is worth fighting for! And damn any of you who will use this date to add fuel to your political rhetoric! If you must, then do so on the 10th or the 12th, the 11th should be a day to remember our fallen bretheren. Let us all show a little respect and not diminish their lives and sacrifices buy making political pot shot's!

It is a free country so post as you will. It would be nice though to just get along and not fight each other on this day and instead renew our convictions to do whatever we can as a nation to keep this from darkening our history ever again!

I was on my way to work from Salem to Portland(attending a class that week).
I did something that morning I almost never did, tuned in Howard Stern.
That was kind of riveting since they were right there in Manhattan.
Then I tuned into NPR for the rest of my commute to Portland.
By the time I got to my class, the entire room was gathered around the one 2" portable TV one of the students brought in with him.
After a while the entire class went, en masse, to a nearby deli with a TV going, and spent the rest of the day there.

September 11th 2001
2001 : Attack on America

_____________________________


George Walker Bush:

Today, September 11th, 2001 -- our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes, or in their offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.

A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.

This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.

Thank you. Good night, and God bless America.

_______________________________________________


Franklin Delano Roosevelt:

Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God.


________________________________________________


Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto said it best, "I fear all we have done is waken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."


______________________________________________

Two dates which will live in infamy!


__________________________________________



We Will Never Forget Or Forgive!



___________________________________________


Personal Note:

To all those Souls who lost there lives on this fateful day, To all those Souls who made the ultimate sacrifice in Service to this Great Nation, To all of those who are currently active in Service to this Great Nation, both Civil and Military,.......I Salute You and Thank You!

May God Keep You, Protect You, Guide You, and See You Safely Home! God Bless You and Stay Safe!

renew our convictions to do whatever we can as a nation to keep this from darkening our history ever again! ---> Darktemper.

I hear that!

In the remembering theme, I remember finding it hard to explain to the kids what it all meant. We all just stopped...

I think that an overall problem in our society today is that it takes a high magnitude, disastrous event on the scale of 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina to make people realize that they do have a common bond with their fellow Americans. I don't think that a good event, say on the scale of the 1969 moon landing, would unite Americans in that same way, were it to happen today. On the contrary, today, people come out of the woodwork to try to "debunk" things like moon landings. There is a correlation of this fragmentation of American society to the development of more and more personalized media and the technology that made this possible. However, I don't know which came first: did the additional infotainment options created by cable TV and the Internet make people more self-centered, or did people demand these things on their own?

Getting back to that Tuesday, six years ago: I woke up to news of the attack, I think on KPAM (my alarm clock radio is AM only). Coincidentally, I learned that Portland also has a World Trade Center building while listening to that newscast. On the way to work, I did a lot of dial surfing on the radio. KOHI was simulcasting one of the cable news channels, and the newscaster stated that the Mexican border had been closed. KMHD was running a news feed. KBOO had skeptics who said that Bush's missile defense plan would have done nothing to prevent this event. All Clear Channel stations were simulcasting the KEX coverage, anchored by Bob Miller. Virtually all stations, AM and FM were carrying some form of coverage. That evening, every over-the-air television station, with the exception of KOPB, which was running childeren's programs, was still broadcasting the images of the attack. I also took the time to look at various newspaper web sites, many of which had shocking images and descriptions of the attacks. One Chilean website, for instance, had a photo of a man leaping to his death from a window on the World Trade Center.

In the days following the attack, there were a number of rumors broadcast on the news, which I never again heard confirmed or denied. One of these was that a crew of young Middle-Eastern people, posing as pilots and as a stewardess, had been arrested at one airport. Another was that some Middle-Eastern men had been seen drinking and "badmouthing America" at a bar in the Boston area the evening of September 10.

In that same period, much radio airtime was devoted to people's opinions and anger over the attacks. Some of the comments were pretty ugly. For instance on KEX, one of the callers said something like, "I don't care what you want to call those people. They are just a bunch of desert rats!" Dr. Laura had calls and letters from Baby Boomers who were repenting their left-leaning attitudes of their youth; one said something like, "in the '60s, we were hoping for a Communist victory worldwide." Dr. Laura also read a poem on air, written from the point of view of a two-year-old passenger on one of the flights that hit the World Trade Center.

Some might say that all of this media hype about the attacks that day went to unethical lengths. I don't think that I can comment on the ethics of how the event was covered, but I think that the fact that there was almost nowhere to hide from the reality of these events played a key part in bringing people together.

Fitting for today (and everyday);

It's the soldier, not the preacher, who gives us freedom of religion.
It's the soldier, not the reporter, who gives us freedom of the press.
It's the soldier, not the campus organizer who gives us freedom to assemble.
It's the soldier, not the lawyer, who gives us the right to a fair trial.
It's the soldier, not the politician, who gives us the right to vote.
It's the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves under the flag, who makes all of this possible, day after day after day!

THANK YOU! to all our men and women who are defending or have defended EVERYONE's freedom.

Absolutely right.

And here's a corollary: it's the responsibility of the aforementioned preachers, reporters, campus organizers, lawyers, and politicians--in other words, all Americans--to actually use those freedoms...gratefully, but freely. Otherwise, it's just lip service.

How about a thank you to the taxpayers who provide all the money for the soldier to do their thing?

Pack salt.

Do you have to screw up every thread?

Viagraguy sure knows how to screw up a thread don't he!

May the soldier of our future be a peacekeeper more than a warrior

May the soldier of our future have hands that save more lives than they have to take

May the soldier of our future visit lands not as occupants but as respectful visitors

May the soldier of our future wear the uniform proudly while marching in parades and less as a pallbearer

May the soldier of our future have less do with war and more to do with honor

May the soldier of our future, be someday, a soldier no more

My day started when my alarm clock said 5:30 (AM), but it was about a full minute behind the station I was waking up to at the time. Pete Schulberg's on the air: "K-PAM News time is 5:31, now let's check other stories from Portland's largest radio news team..."
The next reporter mentioned that Airport MAX opened yesterday, followed by audio of the band that played at a celebration downtown. I turned off the radio, thinking 'wow, if this is the second story on a news/talk station where light rail probably isn't very important to most people listening, what a slow news day...,' and went about my normal morning routine.
I didn't have anything else on (radio or TV) until leaving around 6:45, when I heard Bob Rivers on what was then Extreme Talk 970 mention that all airline flights were grounded and that an announcement was expected... he then mentioned that, as expected, all flights were ordered to land at the nearest airport.
At this point, I thought I was listening to a hoax, and almost changed the station, as I was running down the street to my bus stop.
Just before I could, they mentioned what was reported to have happened... that the World Trade Center was attacked.
I stopped dead in my tracks - I couldn't believe what I'd just heard, especially since my 21st birthday would be in 4 days.
I immediately flipped back to KPAM, who was running what I think was ABC News, where I heard for the first time exactly what happened - the WTC and the Pentagon were attacked.
When I got to the bus stop, I noticed that anyone with a radio was tuned to either 750 or 1190, since I was on 860, that meant everyone was listening to a news station.
The bus came - the 95X Portland Express - and I was standing in the aisle of a standing room only bus.
Everyone looked terrified, like they couldn't believe what was going on, but they were going to where they normally needed to be since that's what most people know to do.
I forget what time it was... but I remember where I was... on that bus, just before the Terwilliger Curves, right around the Taylors Ferry exit, when the radio announcer said "OH MY GOD!!! THE TOWER JUST COLLAPSED!!!" (I forget what was actually said, but close enough.) Honestly, I almost cried.
I could go on and on... but I firmly believe that Sept. 11th is a time machine... we all know where we were, what we were doing, and how we felt.
Without going there completely - I would probably say that's the reason why I feel the way I do about the current political situation... we were scared, almost everyone thought we could trust the people who said we'd go after the attackers - this is who they are and this is where they are. We were told these were the nations, and these were their weapons; where one of them didn't have anything to do with the attack and had none of the weapons we were told they had. We might even be the attackers of their nation. Maybe even the attack itself was staged, perhaps by those who said we'd go after the attackers.
That sums it up for me. Thanks for reading.

Thanks for writing!

but I firmly believe that Sept. 11th is a time machine

I like this way of thinking. It's true! I remember everything about that day. Smells, sounds, where people were.

Ok, ok, now that 9/11 is almost over, I'll chip in with my 2 cents.

By having a MAJOR DAY OF REMEMBERANCE on 9/11 annually, we've played into the hands of terrorists by giving them exactly what they want -- world-wide attention EVERY YEAR on this date.

What we should have done was quietly rebuild the WTC, put up a nice memorial honoring the brave public service workers and victims and MOVE ON!

Instead, every year we announce to the world how a few terrorists beat the mightiest nation on the planet and we relive the 9/11 horror over and over again. In addition, we embarass ourselves by reminding other countries we haven't even caught bin Laden and invaded a country that had nothing to do with 9/11.

Here's one person saying, 'alright, enough!' How much longer are we gonna celebrate how clever bin Laden was? hmm?

I can think of other 'life changing' events that would better suit our country than this.

I know it's not gonna be popular, but I do agree with you Skep.

I don't mind remembering, but I do mind the totally extreme amount of focus being put on this stuff.

Are we gonna remember Katrina the same way? Just an example, of the very real truth that things happen all the time. Bad things, sometimes really bad things.

My biggest frustration over this whole thing is the statement:

"On 9/11, the world changed..."

No it didn't! It changed because we allowed it to change. We fell prey to fear and have granted exactly the win, you are writing about.

I don't want to live in fear. I find a lot of people have their interests better served by cultivating that fear, leveraging it and generally abusing it for reasons that do all of us no good.

Those people that died on 9/11 would want it to mean something. If we ended up stronger, or the world more unified against the idea of terror, or anything like that, their losses would matter then right? There would be something good to talk about and remember.

This whole, "it was horrible --we won't forget" stuff is only half the story!

Where is the other half?

You know, the we kicked a lot of ass and terror is now diminished for good half?

You nay sayers can say all you want. I won't ever forget losing out on that chance to make a difference and lead, like the world looks to Americans to do.

Here's another thing I won't forget. Real Americans don't live in fear. We don't appease, we don't abuse our position, we help others, we unify, we grow strong, and others grow with us.

All of those things are still true. They still work, and the world still will see it our way, and nothing needs to change.

I didn't wake up any different after 9/11. Neither did any of you, unless you lost someone. Remember the horror, but also remember what happens when we buy into the fear too.

Don't buy into it. That's the take away for me, 9/11 brings every year.

Need some proof? Look around at the mess! This isn't caused by the terrorists. It's what happens when people buy into the fear.

Missing,

Our world changed because it was truly the first time the U.S. has been attacked on its soil. I don't think the world changed, but because of our view that America is the world that we changed here. I woke up differently after 9/11 like many did. It was the first time I really had the chance to experience patriotism across the country.

I do agree that we play into the terrorists hands when we publicize a remembrance every year, but every major event we've had has gotten this type of attention. Should we not honor Dr. Martin Luther King because it hearkens back to the civil rights movement? Should we not publicize the attack on Pearl Harbor because it plays into the Japanese hands that they still have some sort of control over us?

I'm sure someone like yourself skep had the same view after the 6th or 7th year that Pearl Harbor was attacked, but we still remember it because those were our fellow citizens and it was something we need as a reminder not to rest on our laurels.

Each person has an independent view of what they felt was life changing. Hundreds of thousands of people in the military joined because of those events and they were NOT afraid.

I think when we catch Bin Laden, be it months, days or years from now we will still remember 9/11. Not as a reminder of fear, but one of resolve and rebuilding, just like pearl harbor was.

Don't buy into the fear, just remember the fallen.

Not to pick apart your arguments, but we have been attacked on our soil, many times. Its just that bin Laden did the best job of it. So we celebrate? Its a bit much.

chaps sez: "Don't buy into the fear, just remember the fallen."

Right, so lets build the memorial and remember them on ANOTHER DAY -- may I suggest "Come Together Day" held on the last Tuesday in January.

It was early of course. I was prepping for a talk show when we got the word. We were scheduled to interview "Haps the Anti-Drug Clown" who was making rounds in the local schools that day. Haps showed up shortly after the second plane hit. He did not know it had happened. He spent the morning getting on his clown makeup and garb.

When he came in we had already pre-empted regular programming and took the long form news.

It was surreal, there is all the staff standing in the conference room silently watching the TV. When the second plane hit, we all just started getting emotional and pissed.

When the first building went down the newscast and quiet in the room was replaced by sobs from the clown. He quietly sat down and started crying and praying.

So we all started praying. We are not stupid, we knew what comes next.

I will never forget that. Here is a clown that spreads happiness to little kids, devastated, crying and praying. His makeup was in a smiling fashion. When he looked up there were big tears in his eyes and a goofy clown smile painted on his face. I will Never forget that.

Hey, for what it's worth, it's not "the soldier" who "gives us the right" to vote, worship, protest, etc...it's the damn Constitution of the United States. And the reason we have that is that some guys had the balls to defy the authority of the British, and back it up with muskets when military action became necessary. That's where "the soldier" enters in: they defend our Constitutionally-guaranteed freedom when it's necessary.

Don't ever try to sell the notion that invading Iraq was necessary. Nobody's buying that any more, except maybe Ann Coulter and a few others on Lapdog TV. Even the most persuasive defenders of our policy rest their case on the belief that withdrawing would lead to a Cambodia-style humanitarian crisis, and they may be right. We screwed the pooch big time on that one, and like Barak Obama says, there are only bad options, and worse ones.

Where military action was needed was in hunting down that god damn bastard Osama bin Laden, and all we did was chase him into Tora Bora and let him go, so he could taunt us with more bad videos than Britney Spears. It's true he hasn't attacked us again. He might be somewhat contained. But guess what, so was Saddam.

Now there's anarchy and civil war in Iraq, the exact thing Dick Cheney himself warned about when he correctly defended Bush the Elder's decision not to take Desert Storm to Baghdad. The mess there is our problem. And our kids', and their kids'. Nice work.

The constitution didnt come to exist, until after a lot of guys with guns and bayonets stood up to the British, and the signers of the Decleration of independence would have all been hung, as a few were, if it hadnt of been for those men with guns and bayonets.

This is true. Of course we need our military, but it's clear they defend our rights, not grant them.

The rights are a given, our law is an expression of that realization, the military makes sure others respect that.

"a lot of guys with guns"

Not so. There were very few. the British could have crushed us easily if they knew that the founding fathers had a heck of a time getting an army together.

If you want to 'serve your country'; volunteer to end illiteracy, help to rebuild broken down inner cities, mentor a child, plant trees or a community garden, feed the poor, be a friend to the lonely, work on civic projects, stand up the the rights of the oppressed using non-violent measures. More local work, less meddling in others affairs.

Absolutely.

This is how to build nations, one solid citizen at a time. Well said Chris.

Add critical thinking to the list, with the literacy. That way they know what they are consuming!

chris sez: "less meddling in others affairs."

Yes!!!