Say it with me: we are not at war.
The existence of the United States is not under threat. It never was. We are not engaged in a clash of cultures with some global foe, or struggling for survival against a rival state. We never were.
I would like to say our freedoms were never in doubt, however that's not true. They're in grave danger, and have been for over a decade. But only from ourselves.
From the beginning, 911 was used as an excuse for ridiculous actions by congressmen and officials who would rather be seen to Do Something, even when that something was worse than nothing, than to admit there was nothing useful they could do. We've taken off our shoes, thrown away a million gallons of shampoo, trashed enough fingernail files and pocket knifes to whittle down a national forest, and the reasoning behind it... isn't really reasoning at all. It's just fear.
In fact, every time you've ever heard the term "post 9-11," what they really mean is since we began operating out of fear. What they mean is since reason began being treated like treason.
Because the truth is that in this post 9-11 society—in this cowardly, undemocratic society where the word "terrorist" serves to justify any excess—we've put up with everything from minor inconveniences to astounding violations of our privacy under the pretense that we're at war with some vast, unprecedented threat. And that's not true. It's just not true.
Yes, sadly, too many United States troops remain at risk in a combat situation, but that does not a war make. We are there completely under our own volition. We could leave tomorrow—let's make it today—and the United States would not lose one inch of ground, not surrender one single right, not give up a dime. In fact, the sooner we leave, the more we save—including American lives. So let's do that.
Let's stop using post 9-11 as an excuse for insane security overreach and inane actions. Let's remember that the government is intended to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the rights it enshrines, even if doing so means admitting that we have to accept some modicum of additional risk to the individuals that live under that constitution. Let's stop being post 9-11 in our actions at home and abroad. And let's stop treating people who dare to point out the idiotic extremes of our cowardice as if they are criminals.
Let's be post post 9-11.