BLOG: We Must be willing to Fight Evil!
Last week, we somberly remembered the twenty-first anniversary of September 11th, which I spoke about on last week’s Morning Roll Call. In the weeks before Patriot Day, I spent time thinking about the parallels between that fateful day and the current environment in the United States. I remember that September morning clearly as though it was yesterday.
The blue Indiana sky was clear, except a few sparse clouds gracefully dotted the light blue background. I sat in a white Ford F250 4X4 in front of a long skinny metal barn. The barn was an odd-looking building converted from an old Veal Barn into a workshop for a landscape company. Wood slats that served as pens in the barn were repurposed into snow stakes for the upcoming winter. Large roll-up garage doors were added to the sides of the building to allow access to the work area. The concrete channels used to remove sludge were filled in, providing a level floor for storing supplies and working on vehicles.
I start with these details because that Tuesday morning in September began as any other morning. The same routines, the same drive to work, the same discussions about what projects to complete. In a word, it was mundane. It was life.
“As an American, I was and am blessed to live in the greatest country in the world.”
Life has a cycle and a rhythm that follows the natural beat. There are moments of excitement and fear and moments of jubilation and disappointment. An entire host of emotions are woven into the tapestry of our lives. However, there is a consistent rhythm that envelopes it all.
As an American, I was and am blessed to live in the greatest country in the world. To live where my biggest concerns at the time were building a company, strengthening my friendships, being with my family, and enjoying my twenties.
Life was simple, and I was blessed. I had a particular perspective of life up to that point, to be more precise, a specific view of my American life.
My friends who joined the military in high school in the late nineties were serving without thinking of the potential of a long-sustained war or combat. I had wanted to join them, but a heart condition had thwarted my plans.
Since the first Gulf War and that decisive victory I remembered watching on the TV as a kid, I thought of America as untouchable. A superpower whose strength came from God, as did her protection. I didn’t see us as vulnerable as a naïve twenty-two-year-old; I saw us as invincible.
All that changed on that fateful September morning, under blue skies, sitting in front of an old veal barn turned workshop in my white Ford F250. On September 11th, 2001, evil overtly interjected into the world I thought I knew.
Sure, evil existed; I had seen the effects of its presence from a distance at different times growing up. I heard stories of evil and knew that death was its aim, but this was the first time it had come on this scale, in my lifetime, on the shores of my country.
This moment in time and the attack on this country changed the world, as you know. Despite some of the concerns from the response to these attacks, it felt like a unified country for a short time, and we felt like- America.
“Evil cannot exist with light and cannot thrive in a world where men and women are willing to stand against it. Division cannot exist when we are united. These facts seemed more like answers that, in some ways, are simple.”
As we remembered last week, the lives lost on September 11th. I couldn’t help but think that evil has once again interjected itself into our country in many ways. Its tentacles are in many aspects of our American way of life. However, rather than despair, I felt a strange calm and a thought soon came to mind. Maybe the response to September 11th, 2001, could be the cure in 2022.
Evil cannot co-exist with the Divine; Evil cannot exist with light and cannot thrive in a world where men and women are willing to stand against it. Division cannot exist when we are united. These facts seemed more like answers that, in some ways, are simple. To defeat evil, we must walk in the light of truth and be willing to stand against it, United in our cause.
Lessons from 9/11 are still as relevant today as they were then. One of the key lessons was communication. The more I thought about it; I realized that a by-product of communication could be unity. I find that fascinating since unity seems like one of the most significant needs we still have as a country today. We must unite, for as we know, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
How do we do it? We learn to communicate, unite as Americans, and refuse to tolerate evil. America changed on September 11th, 2001, as evil made its presence known. This week, I continue to think about all those who have shown a willingness to stand up to evil and serve this country and their neighbors over the last twenty-one years.
I want to leave you with a message of hope and a charge for helping to build a better future. America can be recovered and saved so long as we are willing to unite and fight evil.
This Blog Post Appeared first at OnTheBlueLine.com. All Rights Reserved. September 2022
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Wayne Mulder is a law enforcement officer, speaker, writer and the host of the On The Blue Line podcast. Wayne is an advocate for law enforcement officer total health programs and a believer in empowering law enforcement officers in their personal lives. For more on his mission visit OnTheBlueLine.com.