September 11, 2011

It is already September 12 in the “Land of the Morning Calm” and I haven’t taken the time yet to ponder on yesterday’s anniversary. My feelings about the day are complex. On the one hand, it is important to me to recognize the heroism of many that day and to acknowledge the lives that were lost. Likewise, it is important to remember a day that really did change our world.

It is those changes that I think about more than anything on this day, ten years later. I remember in the months after how Americans rallied together. We cared for one another. We mourned together. We united.

However, in the years since, this unity has been corrupted. “Unity” came to mean supporting government decisions carte blanche. Questioning government decisions became unpatriotic. The results of this are clear… Patriot Act, anyone? War in Iraq, a nation completely unrelated to the attack?(I still find people who support the Iraq war because, “they attacked us first.”) Fear of Muslims?

I think what irks me most is how for eight years, it was “unpatriotic” to question the president or the trajectory he put us on. Suddenly, beginning January 2009, for the political right, there is nothing more patriotic than criticizing the president. The ultra-right has even played on 9/11 fears of Muslims to turn people against the president (even though he is not a Muslim… but so what if he was? THERE IS NO RELIGIOUS TEST FOR THE PRESIDENCY!).

But, I digress. As I said, I have mixed feelings about this anniversary. I feel that the media and the ultra-right have used the memory of 9/11 to manipulate the American public, and I hate feeling manipulated. I also hate fear-mongering. So many decisions since 9/11 have been made out of fear. I’m talking about ‘airport security’ which now involves a body scan which allows some airport employees to see more of me than I ever care for anyone to see. I’m talking about the ironically-named “Patriot Act” that still has so much support that even a “liberal” president felt pressured to renew it, but which strips citizens of privacy rights so long defended as an American ideal.

The hypocrisy of it all! The right talks about small government and accuses Obama of being “communist” (even though 99% of people who use that kind of rhetoric obviously have no idea what it means), and yet they CHEERED for the Patriot Act which is the ultimate example of “Big Brother” policy.

…and once again, I digress.

Back to the fear-mongering: The event that caused a nation to pull together has since caused a nation to live in fear. Isn’t that what the terrorists wanted? Do we really need to give them the satisfaction of causing us to be afraid of our own shadows? Where is the line between safety and a police state?

Does this make any sense? Probably not… which is why I probably will never post it…

(or maybe I will)