5 Years Later 2

I just read a blog by one of my good friends about the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, and I thought I’d throw in my 2 cents.

This person asked some questions in their blog, and I thought I would answer them here.

1.) In those 5 years what have I done? Well, lots of things. I’ve worked for NASA on a satellite program project, proposed to the greatest woman ever, who by the way happened to say yes, graduated from college with two majors and two minors, got married, got my first real job, lost my first real job, found a new job, found out my dad had leukemia as well as lots of other things in between.

2.) What has changed? I’ll just tackle this as what has changed in me. I think I have become a more vocal and passionate person. I remember something igniting in me after watching those attacks that Tuesday morning. Something that won’t ever be put out. I still get emotional when I watch video of the attacks. I’m not afraid to say that. I think I have become a more patriotic person. I love my country, as messed up and crazy as it is sometimes. It is the best nation on the face of the earth – period. I hope I have become a wiser person, a smarter person, a better person. I strive to become a more godly person. I don’t do a very good job of that most of the time. I have a long way to go there. I don’t want to be remembered as a good person. I want to be known as a godly person, someone who made a difference for God and had an impact on the people who were placed in his life. I think I’m getting there.

3.) What do I do differently? Lots of things I think. A lot of which I talked on in #2. I try to always stand up for what I believe and not let people talk me down. I try to be understanding and respective of other people while not compromising my own beliefs.

4.) How do I think differently about our country? See answer #2.

5.) How do I think differently about the people who live here? Not very differently I guess. I try to understand where people come from, not that I agree with them, but to know why they believe what they believe and try to share with them what I believe. I believe many people in this country are confused. I guess that it is a good way to put it. People need an encounter with God, the God of the Jews, and the Christians, who by the way is not the same God as Allah. If that offends you, sorry, it’s just the truth. Muslims do not believe in the trinity, therefore their Allah is not my God, plain and simple.

6.) How do I feel about the people who attacked our country? I feel very angry and I feel sad. Angy that anyone would do something so heinous as this, especially to innocent civilians. I feel sad that someone is so disillusioned that this is the way they think they can please God and win eternal reward. I feel sad that someone has such hatred towards people they have never even met. Sad that people are so deceived in their thinking.

7.) How do I feel about Islam? I’d like to really learn about it, from an unbiased point of view. Why do they believe the way they do? Is it so peaceful, as many people claim? If the majority are peaceful, why don’t we hear them condemning the small radical section? How small is that section anyway? I believe it is growing at an alarming rate.

8.) How do I think about Muslims? See answer #7.

The person ending their blog with the statement that Islam didn’t do this to America, Muslims didn’t do this to America, but that people did this to America, which I think suggests that we need to be more understanding of these people.

I will say this, every one of those hijackers, as far as we know, were radical Muslims. They believe that people either need to convert to Islam or be killed. Plain and simple. Let’s stop sugar coating that fact, please. If you go back and read about Mohammad, you will see that he was not the most peaceful person in the world, in fact he was known as quite a warrior at times, advancing Islam by the sword. We need to understand that we are in the middle of a religious war.

We need to wake up and stop trying to appease people all the time. Call a spade a spade. Radical Muslims want the destruction of the U.S. (the Great Satan) and Israel (the Little Satan), plain and simple. What we need is a radical change in their thinking. They need an encounter with the one true God.

There’s my two cents for the night. Forgive the rambling, I’m trying to get over a head cold.