#304...suck it up ladies.

There has been a lot of discussion going on lately in j- land about the war, and our men and women fighting and dying over there. Hopefully, by now too, you've read the letters I posted recently here from Matt- a young soldier who gives us a real look at what's going on right  now, over there...

Jamey's wrote about Lt. Childers - our first casualty of the war in Iraq... Armandt gives a soldiers view and Remo posted some excellent insight too - the men, it seems - get it.

But what of we women?

I am a little confused, no alot confused actually, as to the women's thoughts and responses recently ...the great majority, it seems are hesitant to commit or outright support this war on terrorism.  Look, no one says we have to like it... I sure as hell don't. But sometimes, hard decisions, hard sacrifices are necessary.  Not every problem can be solved quietly, over a nice luncheon and a cup of tea.  Is it because we're female - we should always take the back seat to any of these matters?  Always play the delicate, weeping, prayer circling, frightened half... 

 Let's not forget, shall we -

Passenger jets were used as guided missiles -  and no warning.  

Body bombs were planted on passenger trains - and no warning.

Car bombs go off at check points - the list goes on and on...

Do not let, Lt. Childers death, or any other service people's death or any civilian's death - be in vain.

Terrorists do not want peace. They do not want to negotiate.  They play dirty - and they like it that way.

It's real simple -  Their only message is to hate - they live it, breath it, drink it and eat it. They indoctrinate their young, their old, and their women and babies to it.  They are not going to go away just because we wish it, or are uncomfortable with it, or are inconvenienced by it.

Remember, 9-11?  Do you?   They stood on our doorstep and instead of ringing our doorbell - they just blew the GD door in.  no notice - no warning...

You know, a little over a month later - I visited Ground Zero. First hand, I smelled the jet fuel and the smoke. I saw the black soot that covered entire skyscrapers, and the twisted steel, and the tears of family members who lost their loved ones there. Hell, I tasted the terror dust in my mouth.  I saw the big gaping hole in the ground and the bigger gaping hole in the skyline. I saw the mountain of twisted metal and cement. I saw the men and women and machines still working, more than two months later, in the recovery efforts.

I heard for myself, the huge silence that the terrorists left for all of us to hear.

I remember standing on top of those towers with my innocent children on class trips, for crissakes.  I remember looking over the edge to all the people-ants below, at the masses of innocent people who calmly went to work there, of the crowds of innocent schoolchildren who visited there almost daily.   

If those memories of planes flying into towers, and buildings crumbling, and people falling, and screaming, and jumping -  didn't wake you up, then what, will?

Perhaps when it's your child's daycare, or your children's school, or your church, or your place of employment?  Maybe when it's your very own home?  

I ask you, how much more would it take to get you committed to securing not only your safety, but your neighbor's, as well?  When will you say, enough is enough?

How dare we sit and cry foul or wring our hands, or worse, refuse to even discuss it. Our men need our support ladies, regardless of our emotional cost. They also need our appreciation and our love - now- not tomorrow or the next day.

Some of the strongest people I know are women - Sure this is hard, it's tragic, and it's ugly.  But sometimes hard, tragic and ugly things are necessary. Suck it up ladies, I say.  If they can bear it, so can we.