The only credit I can take on this is that my mother nailed it with this post. This is a conversation we've had several times in the past, but in consideration of the recent emphasis on OBL by Bush, my mother has put down a fantastic commentary on this situation. Now here for your reading pleasure, my mother.
(A little pimping for my mom's political blog- Blessings of Liberty)
Follow me down...
Why. As we edge closer to the fifth anniversary of the day that changed the world, I wonder what we have learned. It occurs to me, as a nation, we haven't learned very much. We watched in horror on our televisions as that awful morning unfolded and the one question we all asked was "why". Why us? We were told and are still being told, "Because they hate freedom loving people." We bought the line.
Motive. In murder cases, investigators always look for a motive, even when they are sure who committed the crime. Until we figure out and understand the motive beyond the "hate freedom loving people" mantra we stand to be attacked again and we will not be safe. But isn't that what George W. Bush and his cronies want? Fear is a motivator. Humans will do things they wouldn't ordinarily do if they are fearful. When we are at the mercy of a robber we say, "Here take all my money, just don't hurt me." We are now at the mercy of a fear monger and, like zombies, we seem to be willing to do what we would once have thought to be extreme. "Yes, I will walk naked through an airport screener to be safe" and "Go ahead and listen to all my conversations and read my mail because we need to know who the bad guys are." We are willing to give up so much to be safe. Bush is banking on that attitude, so he can continue his wickedness. The motive in the attack on 9/11 was to put fear in our lives and then disrupt our lives through fear.
Closure. The case of nearly 3,000 people murdered on September 11, 2001 will not be closed until the perpetrators are captured and brought trial and convicted. We know who did it, but we haven't focused on any measure of apprehension of those responsible. George W. Bush seemed about as interested in finding Osama bin Laden as O.J. Simpson is in finding the "real killer" of his wife. But suddenly Bush is invoking bin Laden's name after five years of "I truly am not that concerned about him" and rarely even mentioning him. As we head into this anniversary and the upcoming elections he needs to make us fearful. He mentioned bin Laden's name 17 times in one speech yesterday for the sole purpose of reaping the bounce in polls he might get by acting as if he is tough on terrorism. There has been no closure.
Justice. Osama bin Laden should be brought to justice for his crimes against the people of the United States. George W. Bush should be brought to justice for overstepping his authority as President while cashing in on our fears. Neither of these two men deserves the comfortable lives they have lived and the glory they have received in the past five years. Justice needs to be served.
Lesson we haven't learned. Shame on us for the freedoms we have allowed to be phased out at the hands of the wicked. "Because they hate freedom loving people", the "decider" has decided our freedoms should be taken away so they won't hate us. The Twin Towers were not the only things that were brought down on that naive September morning. Our liberty came crashing down as well. And we still haven't learned.
I couldn't have said it better myself so that's why I used her words instead of mine.
(The link to my mom's political blog- Blessings of Liberty)