Blackfive writes today about how he watched the video of Kim Sun II begging for his life:
I watched Kim Sun-il scream that he doesn’t want to die. I watched him, frightened, alone, begging for his life. My stomach was in knots watching him. My throat dry, my fists clenched.
I watched because I want to remember. I want to remember Kim Sun-Il.
I’ve watched the videos of Nicholas Berg, Paul Johnson, and now Kim Sun II. I do it because I want to remember.
I remember, sitting in one of my stores, on September 11th watching the twin towers fall – the Pentagon attacked – and knowing that thousands had died.
I want to remember
We forget far too easily in this country. I wrote about this briefly on the second anniversary of September 11th when I quoted Bush’s speech on September 20th:
It is my hope that in the months and years ahead life will return almost to normal. We’ll go back to our lives and routines, and that is good.
Even grief recedes with time and grace.
But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened that day and to whom it happened. We will remember the moment the news came, where we were and what we were doing.
Some will remember an image of a fire or story of rescue. Some will carry memories of a face and a voice gone forever.
And I will carry this. It is the police shield of a man named George Howard, who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others.
It was given to me by his mom, Arlene, as a proud memorial to her son. It is my reminder of lives that ended and a task that does not end.
I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people.
I was so afraid of this after September 11th. I believe it’s hard sometimes for us to hold our resolve together – particularly when the going gets tough militarily. I’ve already seen the cracks in the foundation when talking with my parents – who, after all, are of the Vietnam generation and make that comparison frequently.
But the resolve won’t be there if people don’t take the time to remember what has happened to us.. and why… and it continues today with the deaths of Berg.. and Johnson..
And we cannot forget them…