(PALM SPRINGS) – For many of us September 11, 2001 seems like yesterday. It is hard to believe that ten years has a passed since we woke to the news that the World Trade Center and Pentagon were under attack. The Cold War had been over for more than a decade and few Americans still lived with the fear of being attacked by a foreign enemy on our own soil.
Like most Americans, those that we have elected to represent us have not forgotten what that tragic day has done to our country. Here are a few excerpts from statements from Assemblyman Paul Cook and Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack.
Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack was serving her first full term in Congress after having completed the previous term of her late husband, Sonny Bono. In her statement today, she discusses the importance of freedom.
"For me, 9/11 brought Americans together like few other events in our lifetime. I was only a mile or so away when American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon at 9:37 in the morning. I’ll never forget it,” Bono Mack said.
“Today, 10 years after the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history – a senseless, horrific act that claimed nearly 3,000 innocent lives – we find ourselves asking an important question: Is America a safer place today? Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer.
“In some respects, we are much safer than before 9/11, yet today the world itself is a much more dangerous place where shaky regimes, struggling democracies and teetering economies have destabilized entire countries and regions. So it’s imperative that we remain vigilant at all times.
She closed with, “Today, on this very somber occasion, let us remember that the cost of freedom cannot be measured simply in dollars spent or lives lost. It’s measured in the enduring spirit of a nation that values freedom above all.
“God bless America. And God bless the victims of September 11, 2001. May they rest in peace."
Assemblyman Paul Cook, whose district includes the eastern desert section of San Bernardino County and the Western Riverside County cities of Banning, Hemet, Sun City and Beaumont, retired from the Marines as a full-bird coloniel having served in Vietnam and earning a bronze star and two purple hearts. He reflected on his military experience as it related to 9-11.
“Ten years ago, the United States was attacked by agents of terror, cowards who sought to inflict pain and death upon Americans under the false banner of a religion. While it seems like only yesterday, our country and our world have changed so much since then. Many Americans are struggling to come to terms with the changes and difficulties this event initiated in our country. When talking to folks, I hear the frustration, even anger, over the slow pace of progress in defeating terror. I urge all Americans to take the long view. We must recognize that defeating terror will take perseverance and fortitude. America has defeated colonial oppression, domestic insurgency, the Axis powers, and communism. We will not defeat terror overnight, nor even in a decade. But America and the world are on the right path, and we must stay the course. The world is moving in the right direction toward freedom and democracy because our country is helping the world to reject terror and oppression,” Cook wrote in an editorial commemorating this day.
“I remember returning to American soil after serving in Vietnam. I had been wounded in combat and witnessed the deaths of fellow Marines at the hands of the North Vietnamese. Many Americans, including some who had served, wondered aloud whether the war was worth anything. By most accounts, America had lost. Yet, when you look at what is left of the Cold War, communist nations versus free nations, it is clear that we are winning. The number of communist nations will continue to decline and one day will exist only in the history books. So too will the politics of hatred and extremism that we encountered on September 11.
He closed with, “There is a bittersweet irony in the attacks of September 11. These despicable acts served as a wakeup call around the world. September 11, 2001 will mark not the beginning of victory for terrorists but the beginning of their ultimate defeat. May we remember those who have sacrificed everything in pursuit of the most sacred of natural rights - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - and may we persevere throughout the years and through great difficulty on this most important mission. May God bless our troops fighting this battle, and may God bless America.”
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