Rule, Britania! Rule!

I've returned from EITM, but sadly my blogging begins with word of another coordinated attack by Al Quaida, this time in London. The above quote comes from a lovely lyric that Captian's Quarters posted here. I echo their sentiments. I wrote the below e-mail to a list I belong to the night before the attack. Those words ring truer than I'd like today. Courage, Briton, Courage.


Everyone has a right to express their opinions. And understanding the price of freedom is undoubtedly important. It is won with the blood of patriots. The false choice offered by the anti-war nuts is inherent to their mythological viewpoint. Where the root off all evil in the world is rich businessman and conservative politicians. Where deaths and wars are laid at the foot of the United States. Where if it weren't for those nasty warmongers, we'd live happy and free in utopia. Engage in such fantasies to your hearts content. I prefer to deal with reality.
And the cold, hard reality is that there are individuals plotting our destruction at this very minute. And there are nations who give them aid and comfort. Many of the would-be plotters are dead, now, thanks to the United States military. And a couple of those nations have new shingles hanging outside their doors. The cost is high. It always is.
But to let that loss lead us into timidity, passivity, and weakness is the worst possible end. More lives lost. Our freedom gone. The world sent back into the Dark Ages. There is a cost to war. And there is a cost to running from war. The latter far exceeds the former in the war on terrorism.