How One Pitch United a Nation...For a while

Never forget why we fight!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaoryQ0oLh8&NR=1



It was Game 3 of the 2001 World Series. The country was on edge and attempting to recover after the worst terrorist attack on American soil. President Bush and Mayor Rudy Guiliani had the full support of the American people.



I was watching the game at home, and had been told that the President was to throw out the first pitch. All I could think about was that I desperately hoped he wouldn't throw a "bouncer" to the plate on this world-wide stage. The country NEEDED a "strike"; and that's what he threw.



I'll never forget that sense of pride and optimism and unity I felt watching him deliver an off-speed bullseye. The roar of the crowd; the chants of "U-S-A!" echoing in the New York night; the cameras flashing like synapses. It was not just a baseball game, and he was not just a President. We were Americans, this was our National Pastime, and he was our Leader.



As I re-lived those emotions today (via YouTube), what struck me the most was the realization that when America stands united against a common evil enemy, and allow our Commander-in-Cheif to actually be able to fight (without his hands tied and arm-chair general-ing from Congress), there is no force, no ideology, no nation that can defeat us.



Please take the time to watch this clip, and for five minutes imagine what a different place we'd be in as a nation if our media reported the heroic stories from Iraq; or if Nancy Pelosi publicly promised to keep Democrats quiet for one full year so our President and troops could finish the major military combat; or if our top priority was not men marrying other men, but was survival.

Make no mistake about it; we will prevail in our current War on Terror. Perhaps it will take another attack on our homeland to convince a great deal of short-sighted and ignorant people that "united we stand, together we fall" is more than just a cliche.

We will move forward and America will remain the shining "city on a hill" for a long time. Think today what part you wish to play in the history which will be taught in schools ten, twenty, one hundred years from now, and let that be your guide to determining whether this war is worth fighting/winning.