The Iron Hand

My thoughts and prayers go out to Great Britain. The British are a strong people, and I believe they will rise to the challenge with renewed conviction.

Probably like most Americans, today's massacre pushes my thoughts back to 9/11. I was chairing a meeting at the Capitol, scheduled to start right after the towers fell. I didn't want to be there. Nobody wanted to be there. I talked with my committee members and members of the public who were there to testify, and we decided we should carry on; we weren't going to let them stop us. That decision didn't change the world, but I'm proud we carried on.

The next day, at a high school assembly, I talked about the price of liberty and America's historic willingness to pick up the tab. I talked about Gettysburg and shared President Lincoln's testimony to liberty. I talked about Lincoln's assassination and shared Herman Melville's defiance:

There is sobbing of the strong,
And a pall upon the land;
But the People in their weeping
Bare the iron hand;
Beware the People weeping
When they bare the iron hand.

I said it would be appropriate to weep all they want, but to remember that, for the sake of the world and our own future, America must bare the iron hand. Then, I asked them to bow their heads as I offered a prayer. After, my wife overheard one boy say, "He can't do that, can he?" His friend (who my wife said had sagging pants and ratty hair) answered, "Well, he just did. And I'm glad."

Enough of the nonsense. Enough of Bob Geldof and Live8. Enough of Dick Durbin and hand-wringing over the creature comforts of our enemies. For those who argue that the actions of America and Britain have spawned today's bombings and other terrorist attacks, get a clue. It is our liberty and our success that spawns these pathetic acts. If we want to protect that liberty and success, we better bare the iron hand.

UPDATE (later): To pay respect, I see we raised the British flag at the State Department. Bravo!