A Nation Roused
Naysayers misapprehend the true nature of America.

By Rush Limbaugh, nationally syndicated radio talk-show host & best-selling author
September 28, 2001 8:15 a.m.

n September 11th, our nation was confronted with pure evil: the mass murder of nearly 7,000 Americans — the worst carnage wrought against U.S. citizens in a single day since our nation's founding. The enemy struck at the heart of our financial and military centers. It used our own civilian airliners, loaded with passengers, to execute its deadly attacks. And it all occurred in the light of the morning sun.

Some in academia and the media are beginning to question the ability of the United States to hold not only Osama bin Laden and his organization, Al Qaeda, responsible for their terrorist acts; they warn against America declaring a wider war that targets states which sponsor bin Laden and other international murderers. They see a thousand reasons not to act, with capitulation as the unstated consequence. These naysayers misapprehend the true nature of America and the resolve of her people.

In recent years, our country has experienced unprecedented prosperity and, with the end of the Cold War, the illusion of impenetrable borders. This national mood fueled a political dialogue that can best be described as petty and superficial — involving such topics as nonexistent Social Security and Medicare lockboxes, the dangers of handheld cell phones, the well-being of the caribou in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve, and the last gallon of gasoline that can be squeezed out of sports utility vehicles.

But when the American people are roused, as they were on September 11th, they are the most resolute people to ever occupy this earth. On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan unleashed a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, which crippled our Pacific fleet. The day following this assault, Winston Churchill, a student of the American Civil War, commented, in part:

Silly people — and there were many, not only in the enemy countries — might discount the force of the United States. Some said they were soft, others that they would never be united. They would fool around at a distance. They would never come to grips. They would never stand blood-letting. Their democracy and system of recurrent elections would paralyze their war effort. They would be just a vague blur on the horizon to friend and foe. Now we should see the weakness of this numerous but remote, wealthy, and talkative people. But I had studied the American Civil War, fought out to the last desperate inch. American blood flowed in my veins. I thought of a remark Edward Grey had made to me more than thirty years before — that the United States is like “a gigantic boiler. Once the fire is lighted under it there is no limit to the power it can generate. Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful.”

Indeed, the Civil War tested America's mettle like nothing before or since. Every one of the 646,000-plus casualties was an American casualty.

And Churchill knew that only America could recover from such a devastating military strike as Pearl Harbor, rebuild her fleet in record time, and eventually lead the Allies to victory over some of the most depraved, murderous, and powerful despots in world history.

America exists to defend freedom, overcome adversity, and right wrongs. International terrorists and the rogue states that give them sustenance and protection are our sworn enemies. They preach hate, kill without provocation or remorse, and rule at the point of a gun. They declared war on the United States long ago. But not until the horrendous killings on September 11th was America finally moved to respond.

This war will not be easy, short, or painless. Our commander-in-chief has made this quite clear. Our enemies are no less resourceful and persistent than the kamikazes who preceded them. But this nation, which has overcome all past adversities, will do so again. The deaths of nearly 7,000 of our compatriots will be avenged. This we can be sure. We are, after all, Americans.