Further reflections of 9/11

The weekend after the twelfth anniversary of 9/11, the California Army National Guard held its Volunteer Resilience Training and Volunteer Awards Ceremony at the Sacramento Armory. Although the events of 9/11 were not part of the agenda, I personally couldn't help reflecting on everything that has happened over the past dozen years.

Note: I am basing this blog on my own experiences: Studying almost every major religion in the world, taking an International Terrorism class a few years ago as part of my degree program at Regis University, falling in love with a soldier currently deployed in the Middle East, and becoming a volunteer for the Guard. This discussion will NOT be about any conspiracy theories that have circulated about the Bush and Obama administrations, OPEC, the World Bank, et cetera. I am also assuming that Islam itself is a peaceful religion, and most Muslims do not hate Americans and instead want to be free of the terrorists (who are raping and massacring their own people) just as much as we do.

Let's start with religion. The conflict between Muslims and Judao-Christians stems from Genesis 11-17. Abraham is believed to be God's Chosen One who would lead His people to the Promised Land. He and his wife Sarah were both elderly, but Abraham needed to be the "progenitor of nations," but since Sarah was unable to bear children (so she thought), she told Abraham to conceive a child with her Egyptian handmaiden, Hagar. Hagar bore a son named Ishmael. Thirteen years later, Sarah miraculously conceived a child and named him Isaac.  Muslims believe Ishmael is the rightful heir to the Promised Land, while Judao-Christians believe Isaac should inherit the land. The problem is that Abe never signed a deed transferring ownership from him to either Ishmael or Isaac. So that's why we're in this holy war. Ergo, there will never be a resolution because God/Yaweh/Jehovah/Allah has yet to officially endorse any religious sect through a means all sides will recognize.

Moving on to International Terrorism class: Islamic terrorists hate America because they think we are Satan. They still begrudge the USA for siding with Israel after Jewish terrorist group Irgun Zvai Leumi bombed the King David Hotel in 1946, which led to Israel gaining its independence from Britain in 1948. From there, we have the whole Palestine thing, which gets messy and confusing. Suffice to say, Israelis and Palestinian Arabs are still fighting for control. 'Murica is siding with Israel because they are our ally. Terrorist groups in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Egypt, Syria and other places side with the Palestinian Arabs. Disclaimer: I do not know which side, if any, non-terrorist Muslims/Arabs sympathize with.

Ever since Israel became its own state, Islamic terrorists (jihadists) have tried to distract us by claiming we are too materialistic, have loose moral standards, and let women like Miley Cyrus out of the house. Unlike most wars, the jihadists are not fighting for the freedom of their people, but rather to break down our economy, destroy our sense of security, and convert us all to Islam (from there, we get to fight a civil war over whether we want to be Sunnis, Shiites, or Sufis). I assure you, none of that will happen. Here's why: Americans are resilient - the more you try to fragment us, the closer we grow to each other.

The first word in our country's name is UNITED. We may bicker among ourselves and criticize our leaders, but we are all proud to live in the United States of America. We band together whenever an emergency hits and our spirit grows stronger whenever the stars and stripes fly. Regardless of your relationship with the Divine, you vote, pay taxes and serve in (or at least support) the armed forces. Therefore, you are a patriot.

Enter the love story between me and my soldier and how he volunteered me to work for the National Guard as the Family Readiness Group Team Leader. I'll spare you the sappy details, here's what I learned: Deployment is hard. Our loved ones are gone for months at a time. We have to raise our children by ourselves. We deal with homelife issues alone. Our service members are sleeping in tents and enduring primitive living conditions and most of all, risking their lives so we can sleep soundly back home.  We never know when they're going to get a chance to talk to us, and we pray that they come home with all their limbs and not in a flag-draped casket. Through it all, we're okay. We are resilient.

We all stick together. Every tear has a shoulder to fall upon. Whether it's a natural disaster or a terrorist bombing, we rally behind the victims, survivors, families, and community.  

I have made so many friends since my soldier deployed - over social media and in real life. It has been such a rewarding experience.

No jihadist can take that away from us. We are patriots and we love our country. Love is stronger than terror.