How many cowardly terrorists have you met?
“This is a cowardly act and targets all Iraqis,” Abdul Hadi al-Daraji, spokesman for radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, told Al-Jazeera television. -8/1/04
"Freedom itself was attacked this morning by faceless cowards. And freedom will be defended.”
"Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts” –President Bush, 9/12/01
-These are just a few of the countless disparaging comments made by public officials and heads of state concerning terrorist acts against the United States of America and friendly nations. And though I know the motives behind these comments are uphold freedom and liberty, they come off as sort of ignorant it seems to me. I mean really, how many cowardly terrorists have you met or heard of?
I mean I’m not trying to glorify them or anything, but gee, would you have the guts (pun not intended) to strap a bunch of explosives to yourself and press the red button in the middle of a populated area? Would you have the courage to commandeer an airliner and fly it into a populated area certain of your own death? Would you take to the streets with guns ablazing against opposing powers regularly? I rest my case. Let’s be honest folks, these “terrorists” are some of the most courageous people on the face of the planet. Doing those things, as sick as they are, takes some balls folks. And let’s be more honest, we safe and secure, middle-class, two-car garage, dual income, easy living Americans are the cowards. By no means am I trying to make a case that these acts of terrorism these terrorists condone and enact upon are not despicable and utterly inhumane, but let’s not lump together contemptible acts with cowardice. It’s simply not true. Anyone willing to lay down their life with reckless abandon for a cause they feel so strongly about is very courageous in my book. Though their cause may be completely skewed evil, it still is a cause in which they risk their lives.
Some may say that the comments of chickenheartedness are meant for those that command the attacks of terrorism, (Osama Bin Laden, Saddam, etc.) which is true. Osama and Co. are complete cowards and abhorrent individuals as they send out young impressionable youths to do the dirty work and blow themselves up so the in-commanders can get more powerful. That is cowardice. But let’s not label the ones that actually do the dirty work cowards, because they aren’t. Sure they may be possessed by the Devil or something, but last time I checked, you gotta have some real guts to do that kind of work. Sure these terrorist acts are completely atrocious, utterly deplorable, totally hellish, insanely wretched, and irrefutably vile, but they are not gutless acts of sacrifice. These people actually believe wholeheartedly what they are doing are the most courageous things a human could do despite how much we despise their actions.
And back to our gutlessness. I’m a coward. Sure I’ll talk about how I love freedom and the USA and stuff, but how many wars have I fought in? What have I done for my country? What have you done for your country? I rest my case.
I think Pat Tillman said it best, en route to giving up a multi-million dollar NFL contract to fight for his country,
Following the Sept. 11 attacks, Tillman said, "I was dumbfounded by everything that was going on. In times like this, you think about how good we have it and what kind of a system we live under, what freedoms we are allowed. A lot of my family has gone and fought in wars and I haven't really done a damn thing as far as laying myself on the line like that." So Tillman laid himself on the line, and died fighting for his country.