Soap Box

The Last Fallen Hero – Charlie Daniels 2002

Since July 6, 2020, and in the months and now year since, I’ve had several people tell me two schools of thought. Either they are glad that dad isn’t having to see the mess that things have become, or they wish he was around to still give his thoughts on the subject.

And knowing my dad, he would have a LOT to say.

Dad loved this country, it was extremely good to him, and he felt an obligation to help those that fought for our freedom, and gratitude for those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Dad has told the story many times, and I have echoed it as well about when he was a child, my grandparents took him to pray at church one morning, except it wasn’t a Sunday, it was a Tuesday.

June 6^th, 1944. D-Day.

He said it was then that he learned that only two things protected America, the grace of Almighty God and the United States Military.

I’ve also spoke about the morning of 9/11 and after seeing that a plane had hit the first tower that some small commuter plane had lost control and it was a tragic accident, but after letting dad know what had happened, was going to go about my day when the second plane hit, which made it obvious that it was no accident.

And the world changed forever.

Or at least for a little while.

Shortly after 9/11, dad recorded a live music video for 1980’s “In America” and it began with him addressing the crowd he was performing for. He said, “Every good American’s mind right now… there is what happened in New York and Washington a couple of weeks ago, and we have been across the length and breadth, well at least the breadth of this country since that happened, and l’ll tell you something. We’re in good shape. We are united like I have never seen us in this county. We’re getting ready to kick some butt, you know?”

Of course, it didn’t take long for politicization to take hold and things started to unravel to the point of which I’d say that we are divided like I have never seen in this country.

Dad saw the beginnings of this, but I don’t think he could have foreseen how bad it would get.

Twenty years after 9/11 the Taliban is now better armed and better financed than it was when we first sent boots on the ground there.

I’m sure that there will be a chorus of “But it’s Trump’s fault because…”

Just stop it.

Trump was trying to negotiate with the Taliban, but they had certain benchmarks they had to meet, and had they started the all-out takeover that they have now been successful with, he would have bombed them to hell.

And the oft-used “we were under a timeline from the previous administration” doesn’t hold water either.

This present administration had no trouble undoing as many of the policies of the Trump White House as they possibly could, and undid them in record time. 

This could have been prevented.

So now, the Taliban will be celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the worst attack on U.S. soil firmly in control of Afghanistan again.

Not to mention the chaos and the lives that followed the unsuccessful attempt to get all of our troops, allies and civilians out of harm’s which led to attacks on the airport from ISIS-K and took the lives of 13 of our best and brightest.

Out of the ashes of 9/11, there were two songs which emerged which seemed to become the voice for dealing with the tragedy. Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning,” and Darryl Worley’s “Have You Forgotten.” 

Sadly, twenty years later, it appears that many people have forgotten, and most of them appear to work in D.C.

My heart breaks for the lives lost and the Gold Star families who now must feel that their loss was all in vain.

Every day dad tweeted “Benghazi Ain’t Going Away” I’d like to add, neither is Afghanistan.

Let’s all make the day count.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

—  Charlie Daniels, Jr.