Remembering 9/11 Five Years Later
This morning, I woke up, performed my morning ritual, and drove to work. This was the same routine I went through five years ago. As I did five years ago, I listened to the local all news radio station. Just like five years ago, I had overslept and was concerned about the region’s horrendous traffic ahead of me as I tried to arrive to a meeting on time. Traffic reports on the eights, followed by the weather, filled in by commercials and other world news... until that first report.
While listening to the radio five years ago, I heard reports of the United States being physically attacked. Based on the reports, I thought it was a small plane hitting the tower. As a native New Yorker, I know the plethora of helicopters and small planes that fly around the city reporting news and traffic. That made sense. Reality did not make sense. Today’s stories were replays of the reports from five years ago as we remember those who died in the attack.
Like five years ago, I was able to reflect on these events.
The president spoke tonight and said that we are safer than we were five years ago. After all, we are bringing the fight to the enemy and we have not been attacked again. But every time I hear the president say that, I want to jump through the television and scream at him that it took eight years between the two attacks on the World Trade Center. Then I want to ask why would they want to come here to kill Americans since we’re sending our wonderful defenders over to be targets?
If we are safer, then why are words like “improvised explosive devices,” “insurgency,” and “civil war” now part of our lexicon? This is not positive language for a country that is supposed to feel safer.
Are we safer or are we being talked into to being safer? This republic was founded on democratic principles is still under attack. But these attackers are not those who want to do us physical harm. We are being attacked by autocrats and megalomaniacs who want to destroy the freedoms which gallant men and women have fought for over time. With the charm of Snowball setting down the Seven Commandments to an Animal Farm, our elected leaders are using the same tactics in hope we will follow their bequeaths like Boxer and Clover. To do that, these potentates of the absurd create something called the “Patriot Act” that has nothing to do with patriotism. It is an law for the country to support the authority’s interest in maintaining control.
Five years ago, ideologues physically attacked the United States because we do not believe the way they do. Today, ideologues verbally attack us because we question the way our government represents our interests around the world. Our president says “if you are for us, you are against us.” He then says we will preserve our freedoms but if we exercise one of those precious freedoms, we are told we are “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
We have met the enemy... and he is us!
George Orwell would have been saddened that our government has not learned the lessons of his writing and has turned the defense of this country into the foundation for a real-life scenario for what he wrote in 1984.
While listening to the radio five years ago, I heard reports of the United States being physically attacked. Based on the reports, I thought it was a small plane hitting the tower. As a native New Yorker, I know the plethora of helicopters and small planes that fly around the city reporting news and traffic. That made sense. Reality did not make sense. Today’s stories were replays of the reports from five years ago as we remember those who died in the attack.
Like five years ago, I was able to reflect on these events.
The president spoke tonight and said that we are safer than we were five years ago. After all, we are bringing the fight to the enemy and we have not been attacked again. But every time I hear the president say that, I want to jump through the television and scream at him that it took eight years between the two attacks on the World Trade Center. Then I want to ask why would they want to come here to kill Americans since we’re sending our wonderful defenders over to be targets?
If we are safer, then why are words like “improvised explosive devices,” “insurgency,” and “civil war” now part of our lexicon? This is not positive language for a country that is supposed to feel safer.
Are we safer or are we being talked into to being safer? This republic was founded on democratic principles is still under attack. But these attackers are not those who want to do us physical harm. We are being attacked by autocrats and megalomaniacs who want to destroy the freedoms which gallant men and women have fought for over time. With the charm of Snowball setting down the Seven Commandments to an Animal Farm, our elected leaders are using the same tactics in hope we will follow their bequeaths like Boxer and Clover. To do that, these potentates of the absurd create something called the “Patriot Act” that has nothing to do with patriotism. It is an law for the country to support the authority’s interest in maintaining control.
Five years ago, ideologues physically attacked the United States because we do not believe the way they do. Today, ideologues verbally attack us because we question the way our government represents our interests around the world. Our president says “if you are for us, you are against us.” He then says we will preserve our freedoms but if we exercise one of those precious freedoms, we are told we are “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
We have met the enemy... and he is us!
George Orwell would have been saddened that our government has not learned the lessons of his writing and has turned the defense of this country into the foundation for a real-life scenario for what he wrote in 1984.
posted by Scott at 11:59 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home