You're absolutely correct. Flight 93 is already a source of light mockery (believe it or not) among lefties on college campuses; mockery of the "it couldn't possibly have happened that way" or "'let's roll' - ha ha ha ha".

Flight 93, just the facts of it, seems to terrify the therapy culture that America developed in the 90s. So you've got old ladies in Manhattan crying "too soon" and humanities sophmores saying "let's roll" as a term of derision, at the same time.

I wonder if networks will refuse to show trailers, the way they refused to show people jumping from the buildings.

The fact that the director, Greengrass, got the approval of all the family members is a phenomenal accomplishment in and of itself. Bloggers should advertise the movie for free.

The passengers on Flight 93 should have been named the Time Magazine People of the Year. It was the moment we started to fight back. Who did win in '01? Kofi Annan. Perfect.

Shortly after 9/11, someone (Mark Steyn?) came up with a telling metaphor about Flight 93: "In the space of 90 minutes, American went from Pearl Harbor to the Doolittle Raid."

The past and future of warfare, with some 9/11 discussion and some predictions.

People like Ted Rall spend considerable time trying to prove that Flight 93 was not brought down by the efforts of the passengers. It is an article of belief on the Left, I guess, that heroes cannot be allowed to exist. (Well, unless they're Marxist heroes like Che.)

The Cranky Insomniac - 9/11 is no joke

Jorg,

It's not just the Left. Brenden Phibbs, a battalion surgeon in a World War Two armored brigade, related the following incident in his book, The Other Side Of Time:

His battalion had captured a number of German prisoners of war who were lined up for processing. One of them identified himself in very German-accented English as an OSS agent and asked to speak to an American officer immediately. The guards took him out of the line just before he was attacked by the other German POW's.

A long argument followed between a Southern officer and several other American officers about what to do. The German had explained that he was anti-Nazi and had volunteered from POW camp to join the OSS and be sent back behind German lines to be picked up and assigned to a German unit to learn intelligence information for the OSS, which he would try to escape with and cross the lines back to the American side, which he had just done with information about German positions, supplies, units, etc.

The Southerner, who was extremely racist about blacks, Jews, etc., kept vehemently claiming that the man was a fake and should be put back in line, which puzzled the other officers. Eventually the other officers, one of whom was Phibbs, decided to send the guy to division HQ for interrogation.

Phibbs asked the German what he thought of the discussion. The German replied that it was something he was used to - that some people were so convinced that everyone had wicked motives, because they did themselves, that they were both offended by, and frightened to the core of their being, by undeniable examples of goodness and self-sacrifice.

What you relate by Ted Rall is an example of this. And I personally experienced an example of it 6-7 years ago on a dying pre-internet bulletin board system called GEnie, for the General Electric Network, which had a forum for science-fiction writers called the SFRT (its internet successor is www.sff.net).

I had related, in one of its topics, a newspaper story about a former Bosnian Muslim girl joining the US Marine Corps. She as a teenage refugee in the U.S. had been baby-sitting for money, but refused payment from one family upon learning that the father was a Marine sergeant. He asked why and was told that she owed the Marines her life and her mother's life, and that her ambition was to join the Marines as soon as she turned 18.

It turned out that, when a group of Serb thugs were about to murder a weeping & wailing group of Bosnian women and children, including the girl and her mother, a voice shouted from the darkness, "Throw down your weapons - you are surrounded by the United States Marines!" The Serbs did so immediately whereupon two US Marine sergeants assigned to the U.N. walked out of the darkness with rifles trained on the Serbs (who heavily outnumbered them, but hadn't known it initially, and were certainly intimidated by the USMC's reputation), made them move away from their weapons, and had the women pile into what became a very crowded Hummer.

The women were hidden at a nearby Marine base and smuggled into the U.S. against all military regulations. The Marines also obtained green cards for all of them.

The girl insisted on telling her story to the press when she turned 18 and joined the Marines.

I typed the whole story into a GEnie post. A writer named Lois Tilton took mortal offense at this and insisted that the whole thing was a fake, though other participants in that thread found confirming stories.

Eventually I told Lois that she was speaking with "Satan's Voice" (a reference to the great SF story, _Soldier, Ask Not_ by Gordon Dickson), as well as a real-life Christian term, albeit one used these days only among those with an allegedly extremist theology (because they believe there is a Hell as well as Heaven).

But you find such behavior in all sorts of people united by one thing - it is a matter of faith with them that all people are rotten because they are themselves, and it bothers them to be reminded of what they are not.

I've always said "Let's roll" simply to get my kids moving; but ever since that phrase entered the heroic lexicon, though I still say it and for the same purpose, my hackles go up and I feel like performing a salute to the people who, knowing they were probably going to die but sure that they were their only chance - and sure, too, if I understand the story correctly, that they were also the only chance to avert another disaster on the ground - did what they had to do. I hope if my number ever comes up, I'll have the courage to do the same thing.

Let the stupid kids (of whatever age) mock; the smart ones know that there's always a place for real men and real women, heroes, a Valhalla where the washed-out spineless imitations will find nowhere to lay their heads.

I wrote a bit about this and other matters. Sacrifices

I, for one, would like to see this movie.

Perhaps not in a theater, though.

As many others, I remember that day with crystal clarity. I know the time and place where I heard the terrible news. And in particular with regard to FLight 93, it concerned me the most as I had to call and find out if my sister-in-law was alright, or not.

While I was happy to hear she was elsewhere, I felt mixed emotions when hearing about the first rumor that 93 was downed due to our brethren on board - I knew at that moment, heroes still exist.

I've seen the trailer. It made me cry. They were doomed but did the right thing, for people they had never met and would never meet.

"My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you: Ask what you can do for your country."

They certainly did.

See the United 93 trailer for yourself.

We celebrate Cincinnatus as the model for the American citizen soldier. But today that role can be as much citizen as soldier, as the people of Flight 93 showed.

I appreciate that Hollywood has found somewhere in their hearts to make this movie. And I only wish they could do the same for Americans in uniform. Maybe someday Bruce Willis may in fact make a movie about the Deuce Four, a savy producer will adequately honor Medal of Honor winner SSgt Smith, and the Marines of Fallujah will get their due. One can only hope.

But until then, I for one will see this film and try to keep the tears from flowing too openly. Having seen the trailor, I can't imagine it will be easy.

How could it be "too soon"? We all saw the actual footage, on 9/11 itself. We're all lucky to have survived the images and the events of that day, and we are strong enough now to handle a tribute to ordinary heroes like the passengers of flight 93.

I get teary just hearing about this movie's release, but I think it is very important that it come out now...we need to remember what happened, and what's still happening.

Damn, Judith. Reading this entry sends shivers down my spine. Gonna see this movie!

Tom Holsinger:

I had heard, vaguely, about the Balkans story.

Where can I get more info on that?

Thanks.

When certain people say "too soon" what they really mean is "not yet, Bush is still in the White House. Wait until a Democrat is President."

Once Hillary is Prez, jingoism will become cool overnight! The Left will be praying for some scrap of conquest to remain in Iraq in '08 so that they can claim responsibility for the whole thing.

Just an observation, but after four and one-half years, some are crying Flight 93 is too soon. Meanwhile, Susan Sarandon is scheduled to star in a biopic of Cindy Sheehan, and who ever heard of her before last summer? And Norman Kember hasn't been free for two weeks, but he thinks his release was a setup and wants to make a movie about it. I certainly wouldn't bet against it. Just curious, but anybody remember Fahrenheit 911, which came out in 2004?

Excellent post. Thanks for the link to the Jewish Week stories.

I love the comments posted above. Heck I like this site and Im just an old Irish Catholic former Marine who loves this country as do the people above.

I don't know if I'll see the movie in theaters (I suspect I will) but I'm already planning on buying the DVD to support the filmmakers for going against the grain.

I guess this makes me similar to those that saw Michael Moore to show support for him and his issues despite the flaws of his films but so be it. The trailer alone almost had me tearing up and I'm glad someone had the nerve.

Richard,

I tried to Google it with no success. My recollection is that I saw it in the SF Chronicle sometime in 1998, 1999 or 2000, and that the Chron had reprinted it from some other newspaper.

It's worth noting that not all the passengers on UA93 were American. At the least there was one German man and one Japanese university student. I don't know, but based upon the fact that the young Japanese man was atheletic (he played American football at his university in Tokyo) and unabashedly pro-America (he was on his way home after traveling the U.S. looking for a school to possibly continue his studies), I am sure he did his part as well.

How fitting it is that among the first heroes of this great war are two men whose countries had once been our enemies in a prior great war. Just as today brave Iraqi soldiers are fighting and dying alongside their newfound American allies, it is the hope of strength, peace and justice we bring to others that makes America special.

I can confirm that at the various message boards I frequent, the predominant orthodoxy is that 9/11 was a government-led conspiracy, Flight 93 was shot down, and the WTC7 and the Pentagon were controlled demolitions that were planned in advance by the military.

Anyone who strays from this view is jumped on and laughed at.

And yes, of course, it is nearly unanimous that the Flight 93 movie should not be released, as "it is too soon" or the movie will be rah rah pro USA (which is self evidently a bad thing).

It's sad.

This is going to be a compelling film in the same way Schindler's List was; I'm probably going to go alone to see it, being that it's easily to immerse oneself in the moment that way.

The most powerful thing I've seen about this film so far was a "teaser/trailer" that featured no visuals, just the audio of cell phone calls, ostensibly from the passengers. I can't find it anywhere (apple's trailer site) any more, so I'm beginning to think I imagined it. Suffice it to say, the sorrow of that day would be unbearable without the example those people made of themselves on Flight 93. They truly provide an object lesson for future generations as an example of what constitutes "the measure of a man".

Can't wait to see this film, in the hope that it does right by the passengers and crew.

"Remember Pearl Harbor" was released in 1942, less than a year after the surprise attack.

"Wake Island" was released in 1942, the same year the island was conquered by the Japanese.

"Guadalcanal Diary" was released in 1943, while the island was still smoking.

"Back to Bataan" was released in 1945, three years after the Bataan Death March.

We're ready for "Flight 93." Anybody who isn't should go join the Democrats hiding under the bed with their hands over their eyes.

I'd just like to point out that the name of the film is not "Flight 93," but "United 93". I believe this title is even more appropriate, because surely the brave Americans who stopped the terrorists were "United" in ways our enemies can't comprehend. I understand that you may not want to (or legally can't) advertise a particular airline, but surely in this case the real title should be used regardless of how it might help or hurt United Airlines.

Andrew, thanks for the correction about the title of the movie. I think "United 93" is a great title for the reason you gave. I was just being sloppy.

I'm going but I plan to take lots of kleenex because I'll probably sob through the whole thing.

President Bush's failure as a leader is exemplified by his failure to visit the Flight 93 crash site memorial.

Here is an excellent article that explains why in our society (the West) we have the willingly blind to what we face in Islamists, the peaceniks etc.
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I wish I had thought of this analogy, I wish my country had more sheep dogs holding the levers of power..
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God bless America, God bless George W. Bush alpha sheep dog..
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On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs
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By LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, author of "On Killing."
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Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always,even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."

Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.

There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population. There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund Burke

Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.

If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

For example, many officers carry their weapons in church.? They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs.? Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.

I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"

Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.

Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have and idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.

Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.

Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling."

Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level.

And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself...

"Baa."

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.

Is there nothing you morons won't politicize?

No "lefties" are out "mocking" the heroes of Flight 93. What a complete crock of self-delusional crap.

I will probably see the movie. Others find it too soon t omake a movie about this. Neither perspective implies either a greater or lesser love for country.

People like your commenters Tantor and Sergio are clueless idiots, reprehensible maggots recycling the crap that spills out of the right wing noise machine.

Spare us.

Sorry for my comment CSS lack of paragraph returns. I think the best way to read that long piece is to google a phrase from it and find the original.

"Is there nothing you morons won't politicize?"

First of all, everyone - left or right - politicizes everything, so . . . pot. kettle. black.

Second, if anything is political, a movie about Flight 93 is political. I mean, how could it not be political?

No "lefties" are out "mocking" the heroes of Flight 93."

Previous commenters say otherwise, and I have also seen this. And the conspiracy theories about it also. Just go to the forum on the movie site, and you'll see it all.

I liked the post and your thoughts. I am adding this to my list of articles/posts about the movie.

That some flight 93 passengers "fought like warrior poets" is encouraging for our future. For surely “we the people” are able (but are we willing?) to storm the bridge of the ship of state, and seize the helm from postmodernist hijackers? See www.tell-usa.org/flight93