Peggy Noonan: What We Have Learned

Opinion Journal ^ | 11/23/2001 | Peggy Noonan

[Pokey78]

"We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing," the old hymn says and children still sing. This Thanksgiving some of us have felt a greater than usual desire to gather, and ask. Our first big national coming together since the attacks on America has taken on a heightened feel. There's a lot of tenderness out there, and a lot of gratitude, too. One way or another we'll all probably be talking about the things we've learned about ourselves, and our country, since that extraordinary day, September 11.

[Pokey78]

Ping for the PNPL!

[MedicalMess]

Nothing refreshes better than a cold hard slap in the face. "Wake up... time to die".

[Trailer Trash]

A nation that had spent the past few decades trying to decide what kind of cashmere slippers to buy found out it was, still, tough as old boots.

Good one...

[nopardons]

What a great article !

BTW, I've been singing " WE GATHER TOGETHER " the whole time I was reading it. Peggy has such a way with words. :-)

[McGavin999]

When I heard this story it stopped me dead in my tracks because it told me what I'd wondered. They knew. The firemen knew exactly what they were running into, knew the odds, and yet they stood in line, received the sacrament, hoisted the hoses on their backs and charged.

And there are tens of thousands who got out of those buildings that stand in testement to their heroism. We must NEVER forget.

[Don Joe]

"We have learned, perhaps in a new way, that we are one people."

Would that we were, but we are, sadly, not "one people".

We are a nation infested with black separatists, white supremecists, islamist fifth columnists, and arrogant spoiled brats like the snotnosed piece of human debris the priest met on the train.

Hopefully we will become strong and healthy enough to wall off these diseases before they overcome the bright beacon of hope that this country can once again be to the rest of the world.

[swheats]

America taught them to be ambitious, but life taught them to be religious,

I like that. Where would I be if the Lord had not been on my side? Peggy Noonan is so real.

[Valin]

From a conversation with Stephen Ambrose on C-Span,
The true story is, junior officers and noncoms who had been college students two years before and had ROTC commissions pinned down at that sea wall and couldn't retreat, couldn't go back -- it was just chaos back behind them -- couldn't, as the plan called for, go up the draws.
They were getting butchered where they were all the sea wall because the Germans had it all zeroed in with their mortars that were coming down on top of them.
And, "Over here, Captain," "Over here, Lieutenant, over here." A sergeant looked at this situation and said, "The hell with this. If I'm going to get killed, I'm going to take some Germans with me." And he would call out, "Follow me," and up he would start.
Hitler didn't believe this was ever possible. Hitler was certain that the soft, effeminate children of democracy could never become soldiers. Hitler was certain that the Nazi youth would always outfight the Boy Scouts, and Hitler was wrong.

You'd think that after awhile these idiots would figure out that it's NOT a good idea to mess with democracies. That when a democratic people get thier dander up it's not a good idea to be on the other side.

[beckett]

When I heard this story it stopped me dead in my tracks because it told me what I'd wondered. They knew. The firemen knew exactly what they were running into, knew the odds, and yet they stood in line, received the sacrament, hoisted the hoses on their backs and charged.

The story stops me dead in my tracks too. It's a remarkable testament to the courage of those men.

[onyx]

Condi Rice..... I hope Peggy will be on hand to write speeches for our first female President in 2008!

[KantianBurke]

And the boy listened and said, "They must have been sick."

Wish I had been there when that punk said that. What he would have looked like when I had finished with himwould have been "sick."

[exit82]

A bump for Peggy, and for a firefighter friend, Richard Bruce Van Hine, Truck No. 41. He knew. He went.And now he is with his Savior.

Thanks for your example, my friend. And may God bless your wife and two daughters until you are together again.

[RightField]

Thanks for the ping!

[Amelia]

And the boy listened and said, "They must have been sick." The priest was startled; he thought to himself that the boy was a victim of modern philosophy, of the deconstructionist spirit, of modernity.

This is some of what we are raising in America today. It's not all of them, but some of you who aren't around a broad crosss-section of teenagers might be surprised at how many of these kids there are.

They've been taught that life is all about them:

Whatever new clothes or new game or new toy they want, they must have it. If they get in trouble their parent(s) go fuss at the teachers, the principal or the school board, or hire a lawyer so the little dears never have to face the consequences of their actions.

Their parent(s) are afraid of ruining the child's self-esteem, or violating his freedom of expression, (or maybe they're just too busy "finding themselves") so they let the child say and do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, to whomever he pleases, no matter how rude or disrespectful.

Oh, yes, and when the child reaches puberty, sex is facilitated with condoms, birth control pills, trips to the doctor or abortion clinic - everything but curfews and limits, because, as the parents say, "They're gonna do it anyway...".

Punishment is rarely used by the parent(s), either because they don't believe in corporal punishment or they've heard you can go to jail for using it, but they've never figured out any other kind of punishment either.

The kids have everything materially, but they have nothing spriritually, emotionally, or socially. And to them, facing certain death to save others is "sick", because, all their lives, everything has been all about THEM.

[Iowa Granny]

Condi Rice..... I hope Peggy will be on hand to write speeches for our first female President in 2008!

I agree with you 100%.

[EternalVigilance]

Condi Rice..... I hope Peggy will be on hand to write speeches for our first female President in 2008!

Indeed Peggy should be writing for future Presidents, but I must take issue with your choice of Ms. Rice.

As attractive and smart as she is, the fact remains:

Condi Rice is pro-abortion.

For moral reasons I will never, ever support a pro-abortion candidate.

As a practical political matter, no pro-abortion politician is going to be on a GOP Presidential ticket.

To do so would doom the Party.

[lonestar]

You're right, unfortunately. But the Laws Of Nature have a way of rewarding these people; they're always searching, never finding real contentment.

[gumbo]

Father George Rutler, a Roman Catholic priest who ran to the Trade Center when the towers were hit

Is this the same Father George Rutler who's a star on EWTN? If so, LOL!

I mean, I love and respect the guy, but he's so intellectual and ethereal, it's hard to imagine him actually **running**, and then on top of that, ministering to the rough-and-tumble firemen.

But miracles shall never cease.

[Phaedrus]

Peggy is our new, post-9/11 National Poet and Philosopher, and a National Treasure. She gives voice to the nation's heartbeat . . .