September 11, 2007
Remembering 9/11
I keep starting this post and finding I have written all the things I want to say in previous posts.
I was going to tell you all how a line from an anti-war song called "Road To Joy" by Bright Eyes has come to encompass all my thinking on the war in Iraq. It turns out I've felt that way since at least 9/11/05:
The band Bright Eyes, led by an anti-Bush leftist, Connor Oberst, has a song called 'Road to Joy', sort of the title track of his last album 'I'm Wide Awake It's Morning' (since that's the chorus of 'Road to Joy'). In it, he screams 'And no one's sure how all of this got started, but we're going to make g-ddamn certain how it's gonna end' in regards to the war. I know he means it as a criticism of our ignorance or arrogance or short-sightedness. Well, I'm sorry, even if you don't understand how the war got started, even if you found it pointless, I don't see anything wrong with wanting it to end the way we'd like. As I wrote in a comment section, if we take down a culture that had children's prisons and human shredders while making ourselves safer, what's wrong with that? And if the 'side' of freedom, liberty, justice, capitalism, equality (or if you can't suspend your America-hating to believe that, at least the side that practices these things a million times more than 'the other side') wins, what's so bad about that?
Then I was going to write how it took me so long to get back to "normal" after 9/11, how I watched a movie on 9/12 and it was obvious, sitting in that dark theatre, jumping at every sound, that things were not going to be the same for a long while. But it turns out I'd already told that story in 2006:
On September 12th, nobody had work so we tried to pretend things were normal. Four of us went to brunch. We mostly just sat there in stunned silence. Peter and I went to see a movie. It was "Rat Race". It was too loud and every sound made me jump. It had a scene with an airplane that was just unwatchable.I went home that afternoon and didn't leave my house again until Saturday, three days later. I mostly couldn't take the 'missing' signs on every lamppost. I couldn't stand all that hope. It was so obvious that all those people were dead. I didn't have work the rest of the week so I'd just stay home all day and wait for SMVP [my friend and neighbor who, unlike me, had a TV] to come home, then go sit on his couch with our eyes glued to the TV.
The truth is that six years on, I've gone through every story of that day, every thought and every feeling. And I agree with Allahpundit on this:
The first four anniversaries are too close to the bone and the fifth anniversary is “special” as only round numbers can be, so the sixth is the one where people finally feel safe in saying that the event has receded a bit in their mind. That’s true for me too, although in an odd way: the further away it gets, the harder it is to watch the footage. I watched CNN’s as-it-happened webcast last year but had to turn off MSNBC this morning when they did the same thing. Beyond a certain point, the bulletins turn into a snuff film. Also, there’s something narcissistic about reliving it through the news filter; for me, at least, it’s now less about what happened inside the Towers than my own experience of watching TV that day.
He posts must-watch videos from inside the towers. It's so important that we don't forget how we felt that day and what those people in the towers went through. I like that 81% of Americans see 9/11 as the most important event of their lives. I hope that with that comes a resolve to fight our enemy where he exists, and to stop something like this from ever happening to us again. Six years after 9/11, I know hope is all we've got.
Posted by Karol at September 11, 2007 02:13 PM | TrackBackTechnorati Tags: 9/11
There's only one important question concerning the attacks, did the US gov't allow/participate in 9/11?
The answer to that query would explain the illegal wire-taps, suspension of habeas corpus, banning of books like "America Deceived" from Amazon, detaining of dissenters in fences miles away from events, and multiple wars based on lies.
How can the gov't be innocent in 9/11 when we have caught it lying so many times (WACO, Ruby Ridge, no WMDs, USS Liberty, Operation Northwoods, Gulf of Tonkin, Pearl Harbor, ETC.)?
In law, if you determine a person lies ONCE during his testimony, it can be assumed that he lied in the remainder of his testimony. How come we do not hold the gov't to the same standard as it holds us to?
The gov't lied to us about Iraq and more Americans have died there than in 9/11. If the gov't lied about Iraq then why is everyone so reluctant to believe that the gov't lied about 9/11?
Final link (before Google Books bends to pressure and drops the title):
America Deceived (book)
Thank you, Karol.
Posted by: Tatyana at September 11, 2007 03:55 PMThanks. BTW - I might be able to swing by the protest at 5.30ish. Hope to be able to mock the 'truthers'.
Posted by: Jeev at September 11, 2007 04:24 PMThe truth is that the 'truthers' can't handle the truth. That's what Jack said and that's what I say. You can tell them that!
Posted by: Betty Weiss at September 11, 2007 04:38 PMSo it is about truth then? I believe we are justified in our anger at the current situation. At this point in time, I resonate most with a political statement like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsF-RiMzGpk
It puts things into the proper and yes 'truthful' perspective.
Posted by: LYONSPOTTER at September 11, 2007 05:06 PMSix years ago today, I watched several friends die. Some were casual friends from college and grad school. Some were family friends. Two were in my wedding party.
Six years ago today, my wife and I were sudden babysitters of several children whose parents could not get out of their Manhattan workplaces.
Six years ago today, my mother - a survivor of the London airblitz - explained to my panicky wife that everyone has to develop "an everyday sort of courage."
Six years ago today, my world changed. I changed. I developed a quiet anger. And I'm still angry.
chsw
Posted by: chsw at September 11, 2007 06:02 PMGregg, you forgot to say "Ron Paul 2008!"
Posted by: brent j. at September 11, 2007 09:16 PMMy wife was working a block from the White House in 2001. My Dad lost some friends at the Pentagon.
Thanks for posting. I'm right there with you. I wish I could have helped out at the protest. Sorry, I couldn't make it.
Posted by: Pokerwolf at September 12, 2007 08:24 AMObviously the attack was a result of U.S. meddling in the Middle East
Posted by: lordofbothworlds at September 12, 2007 09:42 AMOne thing I'll give the Troofers.
They take being called "delusional assholes" in stride.
I was kind of disappointed by that.
There's a writeup of my experience at Ground Zero yesterday posted to my LJ, for what it's worth.
Posted by: Gerard at September 12, 2007 03:35 PM15 men out of the 19 on the planes were Saudi. We attack 2 other countries, and do it so half-assed that it's embarrassing (not to mention deadly for our troops). That's what's causing this distrust-tsunami for our governments.
Posted by: bryan at September 13, 2007 05:29 PMOh, and lest we forget; Osama still at large.
Posted by: bryan at September 13, 2007 10:12 PMDon't forget that Hitler bastard.
Still on the loose after six decades!
When will Bush wake up to the real threat??!!
In a more serious vein, what evidence do you have that UBL is still alive, other than the periodically released still frame, overdubbed videotapes distributed by al-Sahab?
I've got to tell you if that's proof that he's still walking around, then Tupac is a heck of lot more spry and lively than our friend Bin Laden.
Since when has ignorance been a point of view?
Frankly, the sooner America realises (no, I'm not American) how pig-headed and disliked they are by the rest of the world the better of they will be.
It's a shame that you can't even fathom the reasons that America is internationally disliked.
I propose that one of the possible reasons Americans are disliked is because they infiltrate other countries, destabilise the economy and then systematically rape the country of any valuable resource it may have. Time and time again the international community watches it do this, there is no link between weapons of mass destruction, Iraq and well now America has set its sites on Iran - which, was most likely it's original intent.
Take a big progressive leap over your 'patriotism' and re-think your opinions before you spout out more deluded rubbish.
Thanks.
Posted by: Bird at September 21, 2007 02:45 AMoff*
I apologise for the typo.
I, for one, am not interested in winning a popularity contest.
Posted by: Shawn at September 21, 2007 04:12 PM
