For as much as this particular "9/11 remembered" meme has been extremely hyped by the mainstream media, today, the day of the anniversary, I'll share my thoughts on it.
I was a freshman in college that day. I didn't have any early classes, and so I was just starting to wake up when my mother called me and told me to turn on the TV. It was like 8 in the morning or something. My mom was lucky I answered, because I usually didn't answer her early morning phone calls. So I turned on the TV and one of the WTC towers was burning. I got off the phone with my mom and knocked on my neighbors’ door. They were watching it too, we were just completely shocked. A couple minutes after I went in their room, we watched the second plane hit the towers. We were horrified. I went back to my room to get dressed for the day, and they yelled for me to come back. I ran back in there to watch the towers fall with them. I could not stop thinking about how all those people were still in the building. The government ordered all planes out of the air. My first class of the day was now approaching at ten am. So as I'm rushing to class, lots of planes, very low to the ground are rushing over campus on their way to the airport to land. I wasn't the only student ducking every time one of them passed so low over the high-rises. It was frightening. My campus organized a last minute vigil for the whole campus in the cathedral. So many people went it was standing room only. Most of the service was spent hugging the people next to us, regardless if we knew them. The next few days were surreal. It was difficult to imagine why someone would do that. Little did I know then, how much would change.
Our President at the time, made lots of boastful speeches about hunting down every person involved, and justice, and revenge, and yadda yadda yadda. He immediately launched a war on a country for the simple fault of harboring the terrorist organization that attacked us. To show how little he actually cared for the justice of our terrorist attack, when he had the perpetrators in the midst, he abandons the mission to start another war in a different land. Nearly 8 years of his Presidency post 9/11... We had two open wars, we hadn't caught the perpetrators of the attack, and he ordered and supported measures that violate the Geneva conventions including torture and black site prisons. We ignorantly removed the autocratic factions of government from power in two countries without rebuilding the infrastructure for replacement, and without understanding the power of sectarian violence and animosity of the local population. We lost so many of our liberties in the name of "security", which means we deserve neither. Islamophobia is still at breakneck level. Criticizing the war is still tantamount to being un-American. He left office with trillions in debt where there would have been a surplus, because he refused to allow any measures to increase revenue to pay for our wars. He left office with the perpetrators of 9/11 still at large. He left office with war crimes committed. He left office with innocent native populations dead and decimated, and high US casualties. He left office with our country worse off than the day we were attacked.
Let's not forget those who died because of 9/11. ALL OF THEM. We have the people who were in the planes and the buildings who died. We have the first responders who ran into the towers when everyone else ran out... they died that day, or now have the death sentence of terminal cancers. We have the soldiers who fought on foreign soils in the name of seeking justice that wasn't found. We have the innocent native populations that were killed because of our campaign of war instead of our campaign of investigation and justice. We have soldiers coming home and killing themselves because of the government's willful denial of the reality of PTSD. We have because of our vengeful tactics, inspired more fanaticism and hatred for our country, resulting in the possible death of more people. None of this happened because of justice. This all happened because a terrorist group attacked us, and we played right into their hand. Instead of justice we sought war. The two are not the same.
As I remember 9/11 on the ten year anniversary, I think about how I wish we handled it better. I wish our president then, and now, would have acted like Norway's president did when Anders let loose on that camp of youth. Bush made many speeches about the war on terror, one of his most infamous was this quote...“We’re gonna hunt ‘em down. We’re gonna smoke ‘em out of their caves. We’re going to get them dead or alive.” On the other hand, Stoltenberg said this... the response would not to let terrorism defeat Norway’s “core values of openness, democracy and participation”. Which one sounds like justice and which one sounds like vengeance?
My point I guess, is that I will remember those who died one 9/11 and because of it. All of them. I will remember those injured, maimed, imprisoned, etc on 9/11 and because of it. I will remember all of the people who perpetuated casualties in illegal ways instead of seeking justice and peace. I will not glorify our "wars" in the name of the 9/11 dead. I am ashamed of what has been and still is being committed in their name.
War perpetuates more war. Peace and justice perpetuate more peace and justice.
Blessed Be,
Duck
P.S. The link to the article with many quote comparisons between USA and Norway is here...
For as much as this particular "9/11 remembered" meme has been extremely hyped by the mainstream media, today, the day of the anniversary, I'll share my thoughts on it.
I was a freshman in college that day. I didn't have any early classes, and so I was just starting to wake up when my mother called me and told me to turn on the TV. It was like 8 in the morning or something. My mom was lucky I answered, because I usually didn't answer her early morning phone calls. So I turned on the TV and one of the WTC towers was burning. I got off the phone with my mom and knocked on my neighbors’ door. They were watching it too, we were just completely shocked. A couple minutes after I went in their room, we watched the second plane hit the towers. We were horrified. I went back to my room to get dressed for the day, and they yelled for me to come back. I ran back in there to watch the towers fall with them. I could not stop thinking about how all those people were still in the building. The government ordered all planes out of the air. My first class of the day was now approaching at ten am. So as I'm rushing to class, lots of planes, very low to the ground are rushing over campus on their way to the airport to land. I wasn't the only student ducking every time one of them passed so low over the high-rises. It was frightening. My campus organized a last minute vigil for the whole campus in the cathedral. So many people went it was standing room only. Most of the service was spent hugging the people next to us, regardless if we knew them. The next few days were surreal. It was difficult to imagine why someone would do that. Little did I know then, how much would change.
Our President at the time, made lots of boastful speeches about hunting down every person involved, and justice, and revenge, and yadda yadda yadda. He immediately launched a war on a country for the simple fault of harboring the terrorist organization that attacked us. To show how little he actually cared for the justice of our terrorist attack, when he had the perpetrators in the midst, he abandons the mission to start another war in a different land. Nearly 8 years of his Presidency post 9/11... We had two open wars, we hadn't caught the perpetrators of the attack, and he ordered and supported measures that violate the Geneva conventions including torture and black site prisons. We ignorantly removed the autocratic factions of government from power in two countries without rebuilding the infrastructure for replacement, and without understanding the power of sectarian violence and animosity of the local population. We lost so many of our liberties in the name of "security", which means we deserve neither. Islamophobia is still at breakneck level. Criticizing the war is still tantamount to being un-American. He left office with trillions in debt where there would have been a surplus, because he refused to allow any measures to increase revenue to pay for our wars. He left office with the perpetrators of 9/11 still at large. He left office with war crimes committed. He left office with innocent native populations dead and decimated, and high US casualties. He left office with our country worse off than the day we were attacked.
Let's not forget those who died because of 9/11. ALL OF THEM. We have the people who were in the planes and the buildings who died. We have the first responders who ran into the towers when everyone else ran out... they died that day, or now have the death sentence of terminal cancers. We have the soldiers who fought on foreign soils in the name of seeking justice that wasn't found. We have the innocent native populations that were killed because of our campaign of war instead of our campaign of investigation and justice. We have soldiers coming home and killing themselves because of the government's willful denial of the reality of PTSD. We have because of our vengeful tactics, inspired more fanaticism and hatred for our country, resulting in the possible death of more people. None of this happened because of justice. This all happened because a terrorist group attacked us, and we played right into their hand. Instead of justice we sought war. The two are not the same.
As I remember 9/11 on the ten year anniversary, I think about how I wish we handled it better. I wish our president then, and now, would have acted like Norway's president did when Anders let loose on that camp of youth. Bush made many speeches about the war on terror, one of his most infamous was this quote...“We’re gonna hunt ‘em down. We’re gonna smoke ‘em out of their caves. We’re going to get them dead or alive.” On the other hand, Stoltenberg said this... the response would not to let terrorism defeat Norway’s “core values of openness, democracy and participation”. Which one sounds like justice and which one sounds like vengeance?
My point I guess, is that I will remember those who died one 9/11 and because of it. All of them. I will remember those injured, maimed, imprisoned, etc on 9/11 and because of it. I will remember all of the people who perpetuated casualties in illegal ways instead of seeking justice and peace. I will not glorify our "wars" in the name of the 9/11 dead. I am ashamed of what has been and still is being committed in their name.
War perpetuates more war. Peace and justice perpetuate more peace and justice.
Blessed Be,
Duck
P.S. The link to the article with many quote comparisons between USA and Norway is here...
http://www.crispinhull.com.au/2011/07/30/norway-beats-us-in-war-on-terror/
