I have noticed in the news, more and more, references to the upcoming 9/11 anniversary in some blogs. This, coinciding with reports of the Bali bombers being arrested, and the end of a rocket launcher buying ring, allegedly designed to bring down commercial aircraft carriers in the U.S.

Now, I am one of the masses of people that was in a special situation for 9/11-I am an American but am living abroad, so not only did I have to watch the horror unfold with the same impotent terror that my fellow countrymen that live at home felt, but I had to suck it up since I was not even on home soil to stand and face the fight. My feelings of helplessness were about tenfold to those who got to live in the U.S. and be strong together. So I did what other expatriates did-I went to the U.S. Embassy. I called friends and family. I cried a lot.

I am not one of those hard-core, vocal, demonstrating patriots. But I am a patriot. I was born an American, and I will die one. Above all, I find the rights and privileges (for truly, we have so many privileges as Americans that we take for granted) as absolutely sacred. In the words of my man, Thomas Jefferson:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident,
That all men are created equal,
That they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights,
That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

The key words there, for me, are "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". This does not mean I get to indulge myself in hedonistic pleasures or manipulate people to be subordinate to my whims, but that I have the right to shape my life the way I want and to enjoy myself along the way. I read these lines many years ago in Junior High, and they have stuck with me since.

So what am I saying here on my soapbox? Well, my way of fighting back on terrorism and showing the bad guys that they can't make Americans cower is simple. I buy a plane ticket.

I am not an economist, so I cannot include gorgeous pie charts and economic demographics, but I can say this-after 9/11 the economy slumped. People were afraid to travel. Companies floundered and lay-offs rocked the world. I am not saying that all of these things are due only to the tragic events on 9/11, but I understand it was a snowball effect. So if I make a stand-and after all, in the history of our country, all it takes is for one person to take a stand in order to make a difference-then maybe others will follow suit.

Days after 9/11, I bought a plane ticket. And I used it. Six months after that, I bought another one. A few weeks before war was due to break out in March this year, I bought a plane ticket. The anniversary of 9/11 is coming up, and guess what? Yesterday I bought a plane ticket (bound for New York City, no less).

Maybe I don't have flags on my car and home. Maybe I don't have a tattoo of Old Glory. Perhaps this is silly, my one-woman crusade. But seeing as how I can't fight in the Middle East, and I can't be the speaker for rallies to bring people together, in my way this is doing my part. What I do have is a sense that no one is going to scare me from pursuing my happiness. If terrorists threaten to bring down more planes, then I will take to the friendly skies with increased gusto. If they threaten trains, then rail travel it is for me. And if, along the course of my fatalistic patriotism something happens to me, then I guess it was meant to be. And then I hope someone else will take up my torch for me, and not let themselves be intimidated. The very nature of terrorism is to instill us with fear, to make us afraid, and once afraid, we can be controlled.

And no one gets to control me, or take away my piece of mind. In my world, that means they win. And in my world, that is simply not an option.

-H.

Posted by: Everydaystranger at 11:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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