thoughts on 9/11

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I woke up this morning knowing that I wanted to express some thoughts on this day, but I had to muddle through them first. Then I wondered - could anything I end up posting at the end of the day have the same effect as it might at the start? I mean, the occasion is over and we can put this gloomy anniversary behind us for another year, right?

Not so much. The events of September 11, 2001 were just the beginning - our own administration picking up where Al Qaeda left off by perpetrating and perpetuating more fear, and by not prioritizing the apprehension of bin Laden, but of Hussein. It’s not over and it’s not resolved, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. It’s become mired in self serving agendas, greed, and utter disregard for American lives and law. Another anniversary of 9/11 has passed, but never will it really be over. Sometimes I don’t know who has done more to devastate the United States – bin Laden continues to terrorize, Bush and his cronies continue to demoralize.

I’m a little surprised at the intensity of the emotion that lingers, and is so strongly stirred each year on this date. As I watch video of that ominous morning, it still brings me to tears. The shock and grief is still palpable.

It’s salt on the wound that we are still losing our service people to a war in Iraq and bin Laden is still out there threatening us. This administration has offered no apologies for using the vulnerability of this nation to further their own agenda, and they continue to monopolize our American forces; tour after tour our fellow citizens, our people, are asked to serve in this bogus war, in a land that never had weapons of mass destruction, and never attacked the United States, and never had any intention to do so. They serve bravely, and they are dying. It’s worthy of note that we’ve now lost more Americans in Iraq (3,774) than we did on 9/11/2001. I won’t get into the numbers of Iraqi civilians who’ve been terrorized by this war, but that too is noteworthy and criminal. The frustration is maddening. I don’t want to be angry. The fear is, well… it’s scary. I don’t want to be afraid. I want to understand how it is that our nation’s leaders continue to drive us down this road of humiliation and repression. How it is that they’ve implemented their own set of rules for themselves and those who do their dirty work for them. I don’t want them to walk away from this mess in a year to live out their days hunting and fishing and yucking it up, while we are left to clean up their mess. I don’t want to be angry anymore.

I will be posting some highlights of General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, being questioned by the Senate Armed Services Committee this week, as they become available. Until then, click here for some good Time coverage.

Lastly but most importantly (especially after all that bitching) I must share what I believe in my heart to be true: that each day that we are here on this earth is a gift. Live with everything. Love with everything. Speak your love. Appreciate and honor the beauty of life and the planet. Be good to people. Everything can change in a nanosecond.

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