Guests in town this week, hence the paucity of posts. In between the beach and the golf course, the opportunity to see United 93.The wrenching emotional experience that others have described came to me in bits and pieces. Sometimes just the tone of voice of one of the air traffic controllers or military personnel, many of whom were not actors, but playing themselves. There were these constant reminders of what would happen on what was etched in memory as an otherwise perfect September day.
I found the portrayal of the European passenger desperately pleading for other passengers to do nothing and "everything would be o.k" very symbolic of the larger problem we have in dealing effectively with this global threat.
The gentleman was speaking in German on his cell phone as the passengers waited in the departure lounge. It was in Germany, at the Munich Olympics in 1972 that modern Islamic terrorism was born. The Palestinian group "Black September" (presaging a future black September 11th) murdered 11 Israeli athletes that first black September (5th).
I clapped when the other passengers pushed him aside and we began the counter attack.
What strikes me most about the movie is that all the Americans on that plane were united. The passengers were not targeted because they voted for Bush, or supported Israel or the running gambit of delusion that some in this country use to shield themselves from the truth. Those Americans on United 93 were representative of the great spirit, courage and fierce determination to defend freedom that exists in every one of us. They are us, and we them.
The last scene spoke volumes. As we took the food cart and battered down the cockpit door, it was as if a giant had been unleashed and no force could stop it. The terrorists would not complete their mission and the horror that their attack would bring was vanquished.
The message from United 93 is clear: freedom and justice will prevail if we remain united towards the only goal that brings peace: V I C T O R Y!
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