September 10, 2010
There are some events which fade in history after the threat passes -- the assassination of President Kennedy, Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the Maine are examples. People alive at the time remembered those events all their lives because they changed the course of history.
Some of those events are also remembered as a date: December 7, November 22 -- and now September 11. The ninth anniversary of September 11 is being clouded by a nutcase in Florida who says he will burn Korans and the debate about the Ground Zero mosque in Manhattan. Those are merely symbols of a wider conflict that will not be ended with nice talk and about people intent on destroying us and our freedoms.
Long after we are gone, September 11 will remain as an historical course changer. The question for our generation and future ones is: Which course and who will be changed?
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.
