I will not forget

In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on America on Sept. 11, 2011, I made a solemn promise to myself and God that I would never forget what happened on that fateful day. I promised that I would remember those who lost their lives in the Twin Towers and in the Pentagon, and those who were aboard the four planes that were involved. And I promised that I would never forget who did it.

This promise I have kept.

Many of the people that I count as friends and acquaintances, including myself, lost someone we knew in the attacks. One friend knew several persons who worked in businesses that had offices in the Twin Towers. Another knew someone who worked at the Pentagon.

As for me, an old family friend that my Mother knew very well was killed, she and her husband, when one of the planes crashed into the World Trade Center. I did not know her that well. She had married and moved away when I was a young boy. But because she was a close friend of my Mother's, well, her death was a blow to me.

The Framers of the U.S. Constitution specified only one function of government outside the president, the Congress, and the Supreme Court. Only the provision mandating the national defense is specified in the Constitution. Everything else is illegitimate when it comes to the role of government. Government provides for our defense in a world that is fraught with danger and madmen who are intent on doing us harm. But beyond that, the Framers left everything else to the individual, and to state and local governments.

We must keep the national defense strong and effective even if we small government types insist on getting rid of most everything else. We owe it to those who have lost their lives in senseless attacks, and to those who put their lives on the line to protect the people from such barbarism.

No, we will not forget. Never. To do so would be slap in the face to the victims, including those who lost their lives and those who survived, and their families.