Monday, September 14, 2009

Remembering a fallen soldier







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Remembering a Fallen
Soldier…

Remembering What We Are Up Against
and Why We Must –
and Will – Prevail

by Brigitte Gabriel

Dear Victoria,

I don’t believe I’ve ever written a letter quite like
this to you before. Indeed, it is difficult to write this without tears
welling up in my eyes.

It started as a rainy Friday morning in
late August. I was flying from my presentation in Springfield, Missouri,
to my next destination connecting through Atlanta. Little did I know that
what I was about to experience that day was going to shake me to the depth
of my soul, inflame my passion for our country (I didn't think it was
possible to be more passionate) and remind me why ACT! for America is so
important to our security and the future of America.

I looked out
my window at gloomy Atlanta as the plane took off, closed my eyes and
pictured home and my loving family meeting me at the airport with open
arms, smiles and kisses, waiting to whisk me off to Outback Steak House
for dinner as planned.

It was a quiet, uneventful flight. No
beverage service. No announcements from the captain — until we landed at
our final destination:






"Welcome
to "......." . Ladies and Gentleman we have a special request to ask
of you. We are carrying on this plane today a fallen soldier brought
home from Afghanistan. His body is accompanied by Sgt. "......".
Please kindly allow Sgt. "...." to deplane first so he can do his
job in escorting the body below. We will leave the seat belt sign on
until the body has been taken off the plane. Then when the seat belt
sign is turned off, you can deplane."

The plane continued slowly down the
runway as the captain’s shocking announcement reverberated among the
passengers. As we taxied closer to our gate, tears began to flow as we saw
a police car, a military hearse, and a team of Marines standing in
formation waiting to carry the body.

And the saddest scene of all
— his family, wife and children, all lined up against the wall waiting for
him.

Burning tears were flowing down my face as my heart sank
into utter pain and agony at such a sight. We always hear about this on
the news and feel sad but to experience it in person is completely
different.


We pulled up to our gate and Sgt. "...." stood up
in all his gloriously decorated uniform, opened up the overhead
compartment carrying a folded American flag and a back pack, and started
walking out of the plane amid the clapping and tears of all of us on
board.

No one in the plane even touched their cell phone. People
were transfixed, staring out the window, sharing our respect and sorrow.
At that moment we were not Democrats, Republicans or Independents. We
were Americans soberly watching one of our own come home in a coffin
draped with an American flag.


As they removed the body from
the plane, two men holding his wife started walking towards the plane as
the wife covered her face and began sobbing. She was followed by her
children. The Marines walked in formation and carried his body to the
hearse.

We started getting out of our seats and deplaning without
a word from anyone except the sounds of crying coming from different
people looking out the window as they walked out of the plane.

As
I entered the airport, people were standing in lines and rows facing the
window watching all this.

Some men were saluting the body. We all
stood next to each other, honoring this soldier until his body was finally
in the hearse and he was driven off the tarmac.

It was the most
sobering, heartbreaking, and patriotic scene. As I cried for the following
few hours sitting with my family at home eating Chinese take-out for
dinner (I just wasn’t up to going out for dinner), I was reminded of why
we need to continually remind Americans that we are at war.

Our
men and women are fighting and dying overseas to protect America from an
enemy who is not only fighting us across the globe but also advancing here
at home.

Just because we have not been successfully attacked at
home doesn't mean our enemy has forgotten about us. Their tactics have
become more sophisticated. They not only wish to attack us militarily,
they are moving at full speed in the advance of their cultural Jihad
invading America.

Islamic foot-washing basins in airports;
Shariah finance being introduced by American banks; college campuses
designating Islamic prayer rooms for Muslims only; Islamic compounds
practicing Shariah law springing up across America; public schools using
our tax dollars to indoctrinate American students into Islam; demands by
Muslim parents that their children be provided private prayer rooms in
their public schools; Muslim workers demanding special workplace
accommodations no other religious person would ask for; and the list goes
on.


As history demonstrates, only organized resistance will
stop this. Unopposed by organized resistance, the advance of cultural
Jihad in Europe has proceeded to the point that many think a full-blown
“Eurabia” is inevitable and irreversible.

And even if we win
the war against Islamic terrorism, but lose the struggle against cultural
Jihad here at home, we may protect our safety but lose our liberties and
our way of life. I just don’t believe this young man who fell on the field
of battle would consider that a victory.

“Freedom” is not just
freedom from the physical harm our Islamist enemies want to inflict on us.
It is freedom from the tyranny and oppression of shariah Islamic law and
the supremacist political ideology our enemies are determined to impose
upon us.


So, just as that soldier was on the front lines of
this war overseas, we are on the “front lines” here at home. That soldier
was part of the “organized resistance” in Afghanistan. We are part of the
“organized resistance” here in America.

We cannot afford to fail
in our military missions overseas. Failure would embolden and empower
Islamists throughout the world.

We also cannot afford to fail here
at home.

This is why I appeal to you to take heart and help me
continue building ACT! for America. We are the only nationwide organized
resistance to this threat. As I said, we are the front lines here at home.


Our families, our communities and our nation are depending on us,
even though many do not yet realize it.

For instance, two years
ago ACT helped pass the bill in Congress that protects every citizen from
lawsuits when they report suspicious activity in public places.


How many Americans know this happened? Very few. Yet they are now
protected from lawsuits, which means America is safer as a result.


I know there are other issues right now, such as health care and
the economy, that are dominating the attention of the American people. And
I understand why that is.

But for those of us, you and me, who
grasp the seriousness of the threat of radical Islam, we must continue to
do everything we can to make sure that the reason 9/11 occurred is not
forgotten. That the reason we are fighting in Afghanistan is not
forgotten.


We must continue to push forward, to inform,
organize, and ring the alarm bells, even when it feels like a lot of
people aren’t paying attention right now or don’t seem to “get it.”


Because there are many good Americans out there ready to
respond to our message, if we can only get it to them.


Because
we are the modern “Paul Revere's,” the messengers who are warning America
even when a lot of America is preoccupied with other matters. It is
estimated that over 2/3 of the colonists either were loyal to Britain or
were indifferent to the political struggles the colonies were experiencing
in 1776.

Yet, through the leadership and sacrifice of the
remaining colonists, independence was declared and Britain was defeated.


How I wish I could be standing in your presence this very
moment, to grasp your hands, look into your eyes, and say “be
encouraged!”


We will win this struggle against radical
Islam. It won’t be tomorrow, or next year, but we will, in time, prevail —
so long as good, patriotic Americans like you do not lose hope and keep
taking action.

We are winning victories, and we will
continue to win more – and bigger – victories, so long as good, patriotic
Americans like you do not lose hope and keep taking action.

Let’s
remember how far we have come together. In less than two years we have
built the largest grassroots organization in America dedicated to
combating the threat of radical Islam, with 62,000 members and 315 local
chapters.

Be encouraged!

I want to close with this.
Last week, when Guy Rodgers and I were at the EMP conference in Niagara,
NY, the president of a national security organization sat down with us and
thanked us profusely for what ACT! for America is doing and has already
accomplished.


I wish you could have seen his face and heard
his words. This is a man who has served at high levels of government and
been around Washington politics for decades.

His message to us –
and ultimately to you – was that ACT! for America is KEY to all our
efforts to defeat radical Islam. He has watched us grow, witnessed our
activism, and rejoiced for our victories.

So I’ll say it again. Be
encouraged!

Always devoted,



Brigitte Gabriel










-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ACT for
America

P.O. Box 12765
Pensacola, FL 32591

www.actforamerica.org


ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated
to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots
citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to
informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies
that promote America’s national security and the defense of American
democratic values against the assault of radical Islam.
We are only as strong
as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential
to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more
secure.







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