I remember where I was on September 11, 2001. I was in the sixth grade and I had just finished lunch. I remember seeing my teacher crying. Now, since I was in the sixth grade, I figured that my teacher had a headache or something. I remember my teacher telling me to get my bags and report to the front hall because I was going home for the day. I got my bags and went outside to see my dad with my sister who also got signed out early. I remember my dad telling me three words that I never heard anybody tell me before. "We're under attack." He told me about the planes that went into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It was the first time in my life that I was aware of foreign terrorism. I was aware of the Columbine shooting. This however was different. I remember wanting to get back at those who attacked us. Not like I could do a damned thing about it. Eventually, I lost that feeling. That was ten years ago.
It's 2011 and we are STILL fighting a battle that we cannot win. We are fighting a battle against a tactic. Terrorism is a tactic. Osama bin Laden is dead. Saddam Hussein is dead. Countless Iraqis and Afghan natives are dead. Thousands of United States soldiers are dead. Canadian soldiers are dead. German soldiers are dead. British soldiers are dead. We found NO weapons of mass destruction. We destroyed a nation just to try to build it up again. While we tried to rebuild Afghanistan and Iraq, we let the United States of America start to decay. By wasting money on these apparently endless wars, we created the economic climate we live in now. If the Tea Party were around during the Bush Administration, maybe they would've been useful. Maybe they could've made a positive impact. The bodies protesting the economic sabotage of this nation might have prevented a few hundred bodies from being transported back over here in caskets. Yet, we continue to fight. It's been 10 years and we still fight. Do we even know who? Do we even know why? Do we care? Do we remember?
9/11 was a dark day in our nation's history. It was a tragic day. Thousands of people died unnecessary deaths on that horrible Tuesday morning. We fought to avenge them. Somewhere we forgot about them. We forgot about them just like we forgot about the 9/11 first responders. I must correct myself. We didn't forget about them. They just became unnecessary to the war effort. It was all about getting those who killed our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins, nephews, nieces, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and neighbors. Soon it became about preventing "radical Islam" from taking over the nation and the world. Now it's simple. We must kill all Muslims and if you disagree, you are an un-American. See how quickly things can spiral out of control? The attacks on 9/11 became a marketing ploy. It worked. You can buy a commemorative coin or a t-shirt to constantly remind you about the attacks. You know, because seeing people jump to their deaths to keep from burning to death isn't going to remind you of the events. That's what the American Empire needs. A damned coin to remind us that thousands of Americans were snuffed out. If you ever see me laughing, it's not because I find it amusing. It's because that's the only way to keep from crying. I think we all died a little bit on that day. We've been dying ever since. Who cares about the victims of 9/11?
President George W. Bush didn't. Well, maybe he did. However, invading Iraq doesn't show it. Lying about Iran is not the correct way to get justice for the victims of 9/11. President Barack Obama seems to care. However, it puzzles me that anybody who claims to care would continue these wars that only claim more lives and make nobody any safer. Increasing drone attacks isn't a way to show it either. Do I believe President Obama cares? I believe he cares more than Bush. That's about as much as far as i'm willing to go. At least under President Obama we're talking about an exit. Some may not like it, but it's something. We went to war to bring those responsible for the attacks on 9/11 to justice. We can't even do that because some politicians do not believe that the American justice system works that way. The Casey Anthony trial only added to their misplaced skepticism. It's been ten years and we've squandered away trillions of dollars. We've lost lives. It would be nice for President Obama to stand before the nation on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 and tell us all that after ten years, it's finally over. It's not going to happen. It would be wonderful if it did, but it's not. By the way, our "representatives" want to spend MORE.
So now it's 9/11 all over again. Yet another day of remembering what we apparently forgot. The politicians don't remember why we were attacked. They don't remember the victims or their families. We sit at home, waving our American flags, and continue to chant our mantra, "God Bless America." Bless us for what? We sold our souls to the war machine because we wanted to get even so damned bad. Well, we got even. Osama is gone. Many other terrorists are gone. GITMO is still open. If the war is over if you wanted, why does nobody want it? Here's why. We do want it. Many Americans want this to be over. The war is just to big of a cash cow for certain politicians to let die. It's too big to fail. Yes i'm cynical. I came of age politically during the Bush years. The war dominated the news networks. Each new year was supposed to bring us closer to the end of this ordeal. It seems like we are nowhere near the end. I do not believe there is a way to win this war the way we are currently fighting it. I could be wrong. We could win this thing with our current strategy. I'm just afraid that we will lose a lot more at home than we expected. Pardon my cynicism. Happy 9/11 Day America. My how much we've grown. On this day, a mosque can't even be built a few blocks away from Ground Zero due to the irrational fear that it will become a symbol of the triumph of the terrorists. Ground Zero is a little bit more than just where thousands of people from different backgrounds died. It's where the American Empire started to fade away. So, how much more should we give to this campaign?