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in response to
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As a firefighter I have some very conflicted thoughts on this anniversary of
the September 11th attacks. At the time of the attacks I had just started the
process of becoming a volunteer firefighter here in Cumberland. My background
check had not been completed, and I hadn't started training and going on runs.
I most definitely did not feel like a firefighter, and barely knew the few
people on the department I'd met. For me, it may have been the actions of those
men we all watched on CNN that gave me the final push to get going. Taking part
in the ceremonies that followed, listening to the speeches, and hearing the
reaction of the men I was learning from gave me the feeling of an outsider
privy to a very private picture. Some of you know that each month at our supper
meetings we stand and honor each firefighter fatality in the course of that
month anywhere in the country. We listen to their name, their age, their rank,
and the cause of death. Sometimes we are reminded by this of our need for
caution, safety, or exercise. Sometimes we are simply humbled by the actions of
these men. Today marks two years since the attacks, and in many respects the
act of rebuilding has gone amazingly well. In other respects, we're only just
waking up to what was lost. As you go through this day and the rest of the week
take some time to think about firefighters and police, the rescue workers, and
the families who have suffered direct loss. Think also, however, on the loss of
rights and liberties and the potential for suffering that may come as a result.
Think also of the thousands held in off-shore prisons run by our military and
supposedly "not subject to the jurisdiction" of either world courts or our own.
Think also about detainees being denied right to council. Think also about how
the budget for "secret" projects within our government continues to skyrocket.
The men and women who died for your freedom and liberties did not die so that
you could abdicate that freedom or those rights. I started this missive saying
as the aftermath of September 11th was being dealt with, I did not feel like a
firefighter. Today I do. I've trained, I've risked, and I've worked to be part
of that community. I'm no hero. I'm not even a very good firefighter yet. But
this I will tell you: I will willingly risk myself to save you, if I believe
it can help. I will do it knowing the risk I take. In return, I ask only that
you do not abdicate the power you have in your own life to make things better
for the people around you.

:Andrew thanks for this great post. It scares me to see the American govenment
taking similar steps to the ones that were taken in Northern Island about 30
years, only to find out many years later it was a big mistake and didn't solve
the problem.

I also appreciate it as a non citizen living in the US, Bush could get his
cronies to come and take me any day and not have to tell anyone why he has me
with the current rules,and that is just plain wrong.

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in response to
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a firefighter I have some very conflicted thoughts on this anniversary of
the September 11th attacks. At the time of the attacks I had just started the
process of becoming a volunteer firefighter here in Cumberland. My background
check had not been completed, and I hadn't started training and going on runs.
I most definitely did not feel like a firefighter, and barely knew the few
people on the department I'd met. For me, it may have been the actions of those
men we all watched on CNN that gave me the final push to get going. Taking part
in the ceremonies that followed, listening to the speeches, and hearing the
reaction of the men I was learning from gave me the feeling of an outsider
privy to a very private picture. Some of you know that each month at our supper
meetings we stand and honor each firefighter fatality in the course of that
month anywhere in the country. We listen to their name, their age, their rank,
and the cause of death. Sometimes we are reminded by this of our need for
caution, safety, or exercise. Sometimes we are simply humbled by the actions of
these men. Today marks two years since the attacks, and in many respects the
act of rebuilding has gone amazingly well. In other respects, we're only just
waking up to what was lost. As you go through this day and the rest of the week
take some time to think about firefighters and police, the rescue workers, and
the families who have suffered direct loss. Think also, however, on the loss of
rights and liberties and the potential for suffering that may come as a result.
Think also of the thousands held in off-shore prisons run by our military and
supposedly "not subject to the jurisdiction" of either world courts or our own.
Think also about detainees being denied right to council. Think also about how
the budget for "secret" projects within our government continues to skyrocket.
The men and women who died for your freedom and liberties did not die so that
you could abdicate that freedom or those rights. I started this missive saying
as the aftermath of September 11th was being dealt with, I did not feel like a
firefighter. Today I do. I've trained, I've risked, and I've worked to be part
of that community. I'm no hero. I'm not even a very good firefighter yet. But
this I will tell you: I will willingly risk myself to save you, if I believe
it can help. I will do it knowing the risk I take. In return, I ask only that
you do not abdicate the power you have in your own life to make things better
for the people around you.