# God Bless America! Gimme an "AMEN"! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 12, 2001, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088 "2001-09-12T15:11:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/1 "2001-09-12T15:11:10Z")
To all of those… who help the wounded and fearful who fight the fires and heat and smoke who keep order amongst chaos who calm the terrorized who help with money and food who have donated blood who help find our loved ones who respectfully remove the dead who overcame their own fears to become heros who offer prayers and condolences who make us proud to be AMERICANS. I thank you. and I proudly say GOD BLESS AMERICA! Let’s hear an “AMEN”! ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/2 "2001-09-12T15:46:34Z")
I’m with you: **AMEN!!!**. Those are true heroes of the day, and I’ll say a prayer every day knowing those kinds of people still exist… makes my heart full thinking about them. ---
**Author:** ![Palandine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/958977/32.png) [@Palandine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palandine)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/3 "2001-09-12T16:02:39Z")
Amen! I’ve always admired cops and fireman, but I think in upcoming days we’re going to hear stories of truly uncommon valor. I will never understand how a group of people can have so little respect for the sanctity of human life that they could calmly take thousands of lives of people they don’t even know and who have done them no wrong. However, it makes me proud to see how we’re handling this–prayer, giving blood, making donations, volunteering, just countering all that hate with love, pride, courage, and dignity. Light drives out darkness. God Bless the United States and all her people. ---
**Author:** ![caircair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@caircair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caircair)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/4 "2001-09-12T17:39:10Z")
and AAAAY-MEN to that! GrizzRich, may I pass your words along to others not on this board? I think they are some of the most moving I’ve read about this tragedy so far. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/5 "2001-09-12T19:09:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Palandine \* > I will never understand how a group of people can have so little respect for the sanctity of human life that they could calmly take thousands of lives of people they don’t even know and who have done them no wrong. Not to hijack the OP, but if you poke around these message boards, you’ll find some hot-headed folks who are already advocating all-out attacks against foreign countries and their civilian populations as retaliation for yesterday’s attacks. _That_ is where such madness comes from. Of all those who died yesterday, the ones I am most sorry for are the firefighters and emergency rescue personnel who lost their lives while trying to save others. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/6 "2001-09-12T19:26:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by caircair \* > \*\*and AAAAY-MEN to that! > > GrizzRich, may I pass your words along to others not on this board? I think they are some of the most moving I’ve read about this tragedy so far. \*\* Please, feel free, m’friend. It’s tragic, I know… …but it’s times like these when I’m proud to be an American. I was holding up really REALLY well through it yesterday (I’m in the travel business, so that commercial planes were hijacked REALLY impacts what I do!), but when I saw our Congress and Representatives singing God Bless America, I just broke down and cried. ---
**Author:** ![Palandine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/958977/32.png) [@Palandine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palandine)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/7 "2001-09-12T19:56:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > **Not to hijack the OP, but if you poke around these message boards, you’ll find some hot-headed folks who are already advocating all-out attacks against foreign countries and their civilian populations as retaliation for yesterday’s attacks. _That_ is where such madness comes from.** Sorry, rjung, don’t see it. I understand that patriotism is such a reviled emotion these days among some that people can’t see righteous anger for what it is, but I haven’t seen ANYTHING in the real world so far that hasn’t been measured. A group of madmen have declared WAR on our people, indeed on every civilized human being who believes in diversity and tolerance. They didn’t do it as the Japanese did in 1941, by killing military personnel. No, these barbarian cowards showed what great men they were by killing a bunch of clerks and secretaries, by killing hundreds of men, women, and children on hijacked planes, by telling the doomed on the planes to call their families and tell them they were going to die. They timed their attacks in order to get maximal media coverage and to kill the brave people who showed up immediately to help. Some people in other countries responded to this horror with condolences and love. Others responded by dancing in the street and celebrating “victory.” Those who did the latter are enemies of not just America, but again, of civilized people who believe in diversity, tolerance, and democracy. That’s not hot-headed; that’s reality. Saying angry words on an internet bulletin board in response to a group of cowards declaring war on our peaceful people by killing thousands or tens of thousands of innocent people is in NO WAY comparable to the horror these filthy terrorists have unleashed on us, and the very comparison is an insult to the honored dead. We are in no way like those scum. If this horror had been visited on any other country, Americans would be the first heading to help. It wouldn’t matter whether it were an Islamic nation–Americans, white, black, brown, red, yellow, Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist would be there to show their love for their fellow human beings. That’s what Americans are about, and that’s where the pride comes from. When the time for retribution comes, and it will, we will not kill thousands of the enemy’s people in a cowardly, no-warning attack. We will not comandeer their airplanes and fly them into their buildings. We will give them the justice we didn’t get. I’m amazed that some Americans can even make the comparison between individual expressions of righteous indignation, shock, and disbelief and the callous, cowardly, barbaric slaughter of the innocents. There is no comparison. This will be our finest hour. I have never been so proud to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. ---
**Author:** ![g8rguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@g8rguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/g8rguy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/8 "2001-09-12T22:13:27Z")
Well, I’ll join you in the big AMEN. Y’all have captured my sentiments a lot more eloquently than I could ever state them, but I wanted to say that I’m with you anyway. ---
**Author:** ![diamud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@diamud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diamud)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/9 "2001-09-13T13:09:59Z")
GrizzRich, Very eloquently stated. Amen and God Bless. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/10 "2001-09-13T19:52:46Z")
To both GrozzRich and Palandine ver eloquently stated. I praise your level-headed and caring remarks for their earnestness and care in expressing just the right thing. Amen. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/11 "2001-09-13T19:55:57Z")
Apologies, GrIzz … I was a little choked up. ---
**Author:** ![CLedet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b487fb/32.png) [@CLedet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CLedet)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/12 "2001-09-13T20:07:04Z")
AMEN All of them are true heroes. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/13 "2001-09-13T23:32:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Palandine \* > **Sorry, rjung, don’t see it. I understand that patriotism is such a reviled emotion these days among some that people can’t see righteous anger for what it is, but I haven’t seen ANYTHING in the real world so far that hasn’t been measured.** Guess we read different threads and news articles, then. It’s stuff like [this](http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010913/us/attacks_arabs_and_muslims_13.html) and [this](http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010913/ts/attack_arabamericans_dc_1.html) have me especially concerned. Anger at the attackers I can certainly understand; _blind_ anger at anyone who vaguely resembles the attackers is simply wrong. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/14 "2001-09-13T23:34:32Z")
Sorry, the links should have been for [here](http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010913/us/attacks_arabs_and_muslims_13.html) and [here](http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010913/ts/attack_arabamericans_dc_1.html). ---
**Author:** ![Tokiwoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@Tokiwoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tokiwoki)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/15 "2001-09-14T03:29:41Z")
Amen. This is such a nice change from the pit. I feel so much better about everybody on here now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Palandine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/958977/32.png) [@Palandine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palandine)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/16 "2001-09-14T14:29:41Z")
Hi rjung, None of your links are working, but I have heard of threatening phone calls, rude stares, other revolting behavior. The Islamic grade school here decided to stay closed the rest of the week because they say they’ve received threats. I just heard a man was arrested last night for trying to burn down a mosque. Disgusting. A question, though–have you heard ANYONE say that blind anger against anyone who vaguely resembles the attackers is anything but wrong? Again, though, it’s what makes us better than the terrorists. We _are_ disgusted by these acts, and they’re being carried out by a small and isolated section of our people. Perpetrators are being shunned by their communities and arrested by the authorities when their bigoted behavior crosses the line to the criminal. Good Muslim people and good Arab people were killed by this act of war by the terrorists. They are just as much victims as everyone else. This act of war was an attack on our diversity, and we must draw together to show the terrorist scum they failed to break that, too. Flip this around for a second. Let’s play hypotheticals. A group of Christian extremists comes and lives in say, Syria, for years. They assimilate into the society, take advantage of the kindness of the Syrian people, go to Syrian schools. Then, one day, they hijack four planes. They fly these planes into buildings full of Syrians just going about their business and kill a few thousand. Would any American’s life in Syria be worth a plug nickel after that? Would any Syrian official be saying that attacks on innocent Americans living in Syria will not be tolerated? Would Syrian police be protecting American schools? For Pete’s sake, these are societies that oppress their own people with a cruelty and racism you and I can only imagine. I also doubt you’d see Christian extremists in the US handing out candy and dancing in the streets if such a thing happened. The bigoted comments and extremely rare actions against Muslims and Arabs living in this country are completely wrong, but the simple fact is that everyone from the President on down is saying that they’re wrong. In other words, we’re repudiating hate, even though our enemies have committed a supreme hate crime against us in this act of war. The UN recently sponsored a symposium on racism where the US and Israel came in for a lot of flack. The UN conference on racism’s silence on this repulsively racist attack on the US (how many different races these bigots killed may never be known) is deafening. What greater act of racism is there than to fly planes into buildings full of people of all races in the most racially diverse city in the most racially diverse country in the world? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/17 "2001-09-14T18:13:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Palandine \* > **None of your links are working** Yeah, that UBB code is a pain in the tuckus… Just for the record: [http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010913/us/attacks\_arabs\_and\_muslims\_13.html](http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010913/us/attacks_arabs_and_muslims_13.html) [http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010913/ts/attack\_arabamericans\_dc\_1.html](http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010913/ts/attack_arabamericans_dc_1.html) > [@](#): > > **A question, though–have you heard ANYONE say that blind anger against anyone who vaguely resembles the attackers is anything but wrong?** The folks I’m worried about are too angry to make such distintions. Wander over to Great Debates and you can find some folks who are advocating attacking all Palestinians, all Afghans, all Arabs, all Muslems, etc. etc. etc. And that’s just _this_ message board, where folks are pretty level-headed and rational. Just imagine what other folks elsewhere are advocating. I know that not everyone feels this way, but I am upset that such hotheads don’t see the problem with their ideas. > [@](#): > > (Hypothetical situation deleted) > **Would any Syrian official be saying that attacks on innocent Americans living in Syria will not be tolerated?** Yes. To imagine otherwise would assume (a) the government of Syria has the diplomatic sensitivity of a rock, and (b) that Syrians are barbarians. I refuse to subscribe to either belief without concrete evidence. > [@](#): > > **I also doubt you’d see Christian extremists in the US handing out candy and dancing in the streets if such a thing happened.** We’ve got Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell already blaming homosexuals, feminists, and liberals for the terrorist attacks on Tuesday (see [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28620-2001Sep14.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28620-2001Sep14.html)). I wouldn’t put it past folks like them to celebrate something like your hypothetical situation. > [@](#): > > **What greater act of racism is there than to fly planes into buildings full of people of all races in the most racially diverse city in the most racially diverse country in the world?** I think you’re using a different definition of “racism” than the UN conference (and most folks) are. ---
**Author:** ![Palandine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/958977/32.png) [@Palandine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palandine)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-gimme-an-amen/81088/18 "2001-09-14T18:36:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > **The folks I’m worried about are too angry to make such distintions. Wander over to Great Debates and you can find some folks who are advocating attacking all Palestinians, all Afghans, all Arabs, all Muslems, etc. etc. etc. And that’s just _this_ message board, where folks are pretty level-headed and rational. Just imagine what other folks elsewhere are advocating.** Fine. Free speech is a bitch, but it’s what makes us great. Bigots have a right to be bigots. But somehow I doubt any of the SDMB bigots are actually in a position to act on their hate. > [@](#): > > \*\*I think you’re using a different definition of “racism” than the UN conference (and most folks) are. \*\* Maybe. My definition of racism is hate toward a group of people based on their race. Then there’s bigotry–hatred of people based on their nationality, religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender, what have you. I see no greater act of racism and bigotry than what was done to us this week. I fear, rjung, that you’re getting so concerned about the minutiae of idiots spouting rhetoric on bulletin boards, about religious demogogues exploiting tragedy to their own ends, that you’re missing the larger picture, the one that started this OP: On Tuesday morning our enemies declared war on us in the most cowardly manner possible, killing thousands of civilians and hundreds of soldiers who did nothing else but show up for work. These people had done nothing to their enemies. We as Americans are showing our greatness by our response to this act of war on us. We are showing ourselves to be good, strong, and patriotic. All nationalities, races, and religions have united in this country, giving our blood, our money, our prayers, our love, and our volunteer work to the victims and their families. I have never been so proud to see this unity, to see all the wonderful diversity of people joining together to help. It is painful for those of us who are proud of how our people are handling this to hear nothing but criticism. Now is not the time. So I repeat, after this long diversion from the OP–God Bless America. We are truly showing why we are the land of the free and the home of the brave.