The famous silent majority

Dear Mr. President;

Unlike so many of the other letters, I will not presume to call you “George”. I learned through high school civics class that the correct salutation for the President of the United States is “Mr. President”. I don't know why so many in this country have forgotten that. I blame it on the poor condition of our public schools.

I don't have any illusions that my letter will actually be read on a stage anywhere in the US in October. I see this whole project as an obvious political stunt by the political left in this country. Sure they will read a few letters from Republicans to give the appearance of fairness. However they will no doubt read twice as many letters from the far left and the audience will be left with the impression that the majority of this country does not support you.

So I write this letter simply as an exercise to ad my name to the list of your supporters the famous silent majority. I do so in the hope that these letters will be read by the left in retrospect to try and understand the underlying cause of their defeat. So for the record let me spell it out.

I was in Europe on Sept. 11, 2001. I learned of the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon from a gelato vendor in Florence Italy. My wife and I rushed to a bar to see the attacks on TV for ourselves. We could not believe what we were watching. I remember making the comment that those who were responsible would soon feel the wrath of the United States in the form of the Marine Corps, the Army, Navy, and Air Force. I also remember shaking with rage as I said those words. I know that I was not alone.

My wife and I remained in Europe for the next couple of weeks. While we were there we heard many Europeans express their sorrow over the loss of life in the US. We saw them visit their churches for prayer services to honor the fallen. Even then though there were some who praised the attackers. There were some who could even rationalize the attacks and sympathize with the terrorists.

Once we returned to the US we were shocked to see that little had changed. There were no special measures being taken at the airport. There was no extra security present. There was no extra scrutiny of passports, IDs, or visas. In fact the foreigners on our flight actually beat my wife and I through the lines. It was as if nothing had happened at all. Our country was very lucky that the terrorists did not know that we had no reaction for the first 30 days after the attacks.

I was even more shocked to hear the rumblings of political opposition in this country even before we responded in Afghanistan! The leadership in the Democratic party now hopes that we all have forgotten. I have not forgotten! I never will! I can remember the anti-war crowd telling us that we should not invade Afghanistan. I remember them telling us that the Afghans had done nothing to us at all. I remember the outcry in the media as we accidentally bombed a Red Cross food depot that just happened to be next to an Afghan army outpost. I remember the photos of that food depot and the broken bags of wheat and rice, each one bearing the unmistakable letters USA! I will never forget that.

I will never forget that from day one of our actions in Afghanistan that the media and the left tried to tell us that we were the bad guys. That the US was being “heavy handed” even after we gave the Afghans 6 weeks to surrender Osama bin Laden and after they refused.

Nor will I forget that the left tried to claim that there was “no proof” that Osama was behind the attacks, even after he admitted it on one of his famous video tapes. There are still those on the left who claim that the US government was responsible, or that it was the Jews, or that it was Israel, or .....just about anybody but Osama.

I also remember the calm and reasoned response of our President. I really have to hand it to you sir. I know that if I had been in your shoes, that portions of Afghanistan would be radioactive now. Yet, your response was measured, rational, and very well thought out. You really impressed me in your leadership there.

Now the Democrats want me to forget all this. They want me to consider their candidate who was nowhere to be found in Sept. 2001. In fact the Democrats as a whole were scarce in the aftermath of 9/11. One could say that they were AWOL. Senator Clinton found little time to attend funerals of the fallen. Contrast that with the actions of Rudy Giuliani, Dick Cheney, and yourself, who did attend to your duties. Rudy continued to attend memorials even after he was replaced as mayor.

Now it's October 2004 and we will vote in a matter of weeks. I need no more convincing, you convinced me in September, October, and November of 2001. You are and always will be my President of choice.

I think in this election more than in any other in the past we will decide the fate of this country. We will decide once and for all what it means to be an American. I personally think that you will win by a landslide. If not then heaven help us when the next attack comes.

Ed
Age 43
Atlanta, GA