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Cry, And Let Loose The Spoiled Of War...
Nov. 15th, 2001 08:49 am
Hey there...
OK, so this has been a pretty long time in coming. I've held it off until now, but since I'm about to head off for a major kind of Journey, I'd best get it off my chest and be done with it.
The way I feel about the Sept. 11th attacks and the ensuing declaration of war on terrorism is one that a lot of people misunderstand (or maybe just don't care about). So, I feel it's my civic duty to explain exactly what's going through my head about this thing. OK? OK, the ride might be a little bumpy so hang on.
To this day, what happened on 9.11 still dicks with me. I had just woken up and called in sick to work (something I don't do often, read: ever), but I couldn't get back to sleep for some reason. Something just didn't...feel right. So, I went upstairs to visit March, and he met me in the yard, telling me how the World Trade Center is gone and the Pentagon's on fire.
Right.
No, really, he said. So I went up to his place, and well...there it was; footage of a plane crashing into the WTC, and then them falling. Over and over and over again. Peter Jennings was looking as haggard and confused as I felt as he displayed footage of people running, screaming, crying, looking in ash-covered streets for friends and co-workers they left behind...it was unbelievable. Like something in some...Hollywood movie. I really dislike using such bland terminology for it, but really, that's how it felt. And I don't think I'm alone in this.
I mean, whoa...this is huge. The single most destructive act ever performed on American shores...I just can't...fathom it, even now. The images I saw that day will stick with me for the rest of my life.
Of course, this country banded together in ways unheard of in the seconds, hours, days and weeks after the attack, and in general it really gave me a good feeling about the people of New York, and of this country. To see people falling all over themselves to help inspires a real good feeling in humanity that I haven't seen for a while. That was cool.
The government's response is not. Now, don't get me wrong; before I say this I want you all to understand that I have no problem with being American, or think that patriotism is a bad thing in and of itself. However, the knee-jerk reaction that people gave towards the suspects (well, masterminds) of the bombing really...disturbs me.
Osama bin Laden has been deemed responsible for the attacks on Sept. 11th. All right, I can buy that. We feel that it's our duty and right to ferret him out and meter proper justice. OK, I can buy that, too. We also feel that it's in our (the civilized world's) best interests to go after anyone we *suspect* of future terrorism. Well, OK...that's understandable, but it makes me a bit wary.
But this has gone beyond a simple "War on Terrorism". It's turned into politicians using the tragedy to promote their bills. It's turned into businesses exploting the explosion of patriotism for their own profit. It's turned into people cheapening the gravity of the situation by selling Osama Sucks t-shirts and hawking giant flags at car dealerships and radio spots saying, "We're Americans, too, so buy our stuff." It's when patriotism is befouled by greed, selfishness and other nasty corruptions that it becomes intolerable. And the people of America are just letting themselves get duped by it.
This is starting to sound like rhetoric, and I don't want it to be that. I just don't think patriotism has anything to do with cars, and how big of a flag you have on your car, and how many flags you have covering every square inch of everything you own. The people who boast the loudest usually have the most to be insecure about.
I don't agree with Bush as President, either; I never have, and the simple fact that there's a terrorism crisis doesn't change the fact that he's simply the wrong man for the job. Any leader of our nation who would support drilling for oil in wildlife refuges *and* claim that it's integral to help maintain our freedom is just bullshitting. And he's using this tragedy to further his own agenda, from tax cuts to bailouts for corporations (some of which need them, some of which don't) to missile defense systems.
Look, I may be wrong about all of this. But the reason I call this rash of patriotism mindless isn't because patriotism is mindless in general. It's because we're suddenly expected to 'obey' our leaders without question, and never ask if what they're doing is really the right thing. Have we ever stopped to wonder *how* Osama bin Laden got so much money, and so many supporters? Do we ever stop to wonder *why* the government of Pakistan has been threatened time and time again because they've agreed to help the United States? Have we ever stopped to wonder *why* we have the role of The Great Satan among a small (but significant) minority in the Middle Eastern Moslem community?
I'm not saying the United States deserves the reputation it's gotten in those countries, but to assume that we're completely righteous and innocent is a falsehood, too. We have to *question* what we've been doing to be the target of such hatred. We have to think about what our role has been in those countries. And I don't think "We've just been bailing them out time and time again, and they hate us 'cuz we're rich" is going to cut it for this one. It's time to use our brain, instead of just blowing the shit out of anything that disagrees with our policy, whether that's with politics or bombs. :P
I hope we find bin Laden. I hope we bring him and his organization to justice for what he's done. I really do. There is *no* excuse for the kind of bloodshed and havoc he and his men brought to the world. But I think once we've found the perpetrators of this horrific nightmare, we really need to sit down and think about whatever we ate to make it happen.
Gods help us all.
OK. I think I'm done.
Work was work, and now I have to pack, shave my head *and* donate plasma before 2 p.m. or so. Good luck. :P
I'll also be cutting myself from on-line in general, except for the purposes of writing in this journal. So if you want to contact me on-line at all this month, you'll have to respond to these. And anyone that matters would already be reading this. :)
So, please, flame me and stuff. I like it. Really. I'll try and have daily Journey logs on Monday, when I come back from MFF.
See you all soon!
-David
OK, so this has been a pretty long time in coming. I've held it off until now, but since I'm about to head off for a major kind of Journey, I'd best get it off my chest and be done with it.
The way I feel about the Sept. 11th attacks and the ensuing declaration of war on terrorism is one that a lot of people misunderstand (or maybe just don't care about). So, I feel it's my civic duty to explain exactly what's going through my head about this thing. OK? OK, the ride might be a little bumpy so hang on.
To this day, what happened on 9.11 still dicks with me. I had just woken up and called in sick to work (something I don't do often, read: ever), but I couldn't get back to sleep for some reason. Something just didn't...feel right. So, I went upstairs to visit March, and he met me in the yard, telling me how the World Trade Center is gone and the Pentagon's on fire.
Right.
No, really, he said. So I went up to his place, and well...there it was; footage of a plane crashing into the WTC, and then them falling. Over and over and over again. Peter Jennings was looking as haggard and confused as I felt as he displayed footage of people running, screaming, crying, looking in ash-covered streets for friends and co-workers they left behind...it was unbelievable. Like something in some...Hollywood movie. I really dislike using such bland terminology for it, but really, that's how it felt. And I don't think I'm alone in this.
I mean, whoa...this is huge. The single most destructive act ever performed on American shores...I just can't...fathom it, even now. The images I saw that day will stick with me for the rest of my life.
Of course, this country banded together in ways unheard of in the seconds, hours, days and weeks after the attack, and in general it really gave me a good feeling about the people of New York, and of this country. To see people falling all over themselves to help inspires a real good feeling in humanity that I haven't seen for a while. That was cool.
The government's response is not. Now, don't get me wrong; before I say this I want you all to understand that I have no problem with being American, or think that patriotism is a bad thing in and of itself. However, the knee-jerk reaction that people gave towards the suspects (well, masterminds) of the bombing really...disturbs me.
Osama bin Laden has been deemed responsible for the attacks on Sept. 11th. All right, I can buy that. We feel that it's our duty and right to ferret him out and meter proper justice. OK, I can buy that, too. We also feel that it's in our (the civilized world's) best interests to go after anyone we *suspect* of future terrorism. Well, OK...that's understandable, but it makes me a bit wary.
But this has gone beyond a simple "War on Terrorism". It's turned into politicians using the tragedy to promote their bills. It's turned into businesses exploting the explosion of patriotism for their own profit. It's turned into people cheapening the gravity of the situation by selling Osama Sucks t-shirts and hawking giant flags at car dealerships and radio spots saying, "We're Americans, too, so buy our stuff." It's when patriotism is befouled by greed, selfishness and other nasty corruptions that it becomes intolerable. And the people of America are just letting themselves get duped by it.
This is starting to sound like rhetoric, and I don't want it to be that. I just don't think patriotism has anything to do with cars, and how big of a flag you have on your car, and how many flags you have covering every square inch of everything you own. The people who boast the loudest usually have the most to be insecure about.
I don't agree with Bush as President, either; I never have, and the simple fact that there's a terrorism crisis doesn't change the fact that he's simply the wrong man for the job. Any leader of our nation who would support drilling for oil in wildlife refuges *and* claim that it's integral to help maintain our freedom is just bullshitting. And he's using this tragedy to further his own agenda, from tax cuts to bailouts for corporations (some of which need them, some of which don't) to missile defense systems.
Look, I may be wrong about all of this. But the reason I call this rash of patriotism mindless isn't because patriotism is mindless in general. It's because we're suddenly expected to 'obey' our leaders without question, and never ask if what they're doing is really the right thing. Have we ever stopped to wonder *how* Osama bin Laden got so much money, and so many supporters? Do we ever stop to wonder *why* the government of Pakistan has been threatened time and time again because they've agreed to help the United States? Have we ever stopped to wonder *why* we have the role of The Great Satan among a small (but significant) minority in the Middle Eastern Moslem community?
I'm not saying the United States deserves the reputation it's gotten in those countries, but to assume that we're completely righteous and innocent is a falsehood, too. We have to *question* what we've been doing to be the target of such hatred. We have to think about what our role has been in those countries. And I don't think "We've just been bailing them out time and time again, and they hate us 'cuz we're rich" is going to cut it for this one. It's time to use our brain, instead of just blowing the shit out of anything that disagrees with our policy, whether that's with politics or bombs. :P
I hope we find bin Laden. I hope we bring him and his organization to justice for what he's done. I really do. There is *no* excuse for the kind of bloodshed and havoc he and his men brought to the world. But I think once we've found the perpetrators of this horrific nightmare, we really need to sit down and think about whatever we ate to make it happen.
Gods help us all.
OK. I think I'm done.
Work was work, and now I have to pack, shave my head *and* donate plasma before 2 p.m. or so. Good luck. :P
I'll also be cutting myself from on-line in general, except for the purposes of writing in this journal. So if you want to contact me on-line at all this month, you'll have to respond to these. And anyone that matters would already be reading this. :)
So, please, flame me and stuff. I like it. Really. I'll try and have daily Journey logs on Monday, when I come back from MFF.
See you all soon!
-David
