President Bush: I Thank You

President Bush: Thank You

To President Bush, I thank you. I am not a scholar; I am a mother. I am not a politician; I am a citizen. Though many around me debate how President Bush has led our country over the past two terms, I can only say, "President Bush, thank you." Though many continue to argue your successes and failures, policy mistakes, and speech slip-ups, I can only say one thing, "President Bush, thank you."

You see, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I want to put aside the politics, congressional agendas, and political twists, turns, and spins. I only want to say one thing, and that is that I remember 9/11. I will always remember that fateful day when the entire world stood still, frozen in the ashes that spread across the nation as our worst fears were realized. Terrorists had attacked us and panic was rampant throughout the land.

More than that, I remember 9/12. I remember how the nation was glued to their television screens trying to make sense of what happened. I remember the following weeks that ensued, and how depression, fear, and anxiety began creeping across the land. Mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers trying to make sense of an act so brutal that there was no reason to be found.

I remember when the announcement was made that Bin Laden led the terrorist plot and that our nation had been targeted, and we as a country, for the first time in my life began to look at the words, "united" in new meaning. President Bush, we were afraid. We were scared. We were petrified. Many of us feared to go the malls, feared that there would be no future for our children. You see, I remember what it was like, when the country was afraid that anthrax was going to show up in mailboxes, and how the post office began to take unusually long delays in delivering people's mail. I remember the talk of needing to beef up security, to change policy, to implement new programs to keep our country safe. President Bush, I thank you.