u235

It's time once again to suffer. Yes, with the predictability of the well oiled axe at the end of the pendulum, I await the next 9/11 event from the pit with feeling of disgust mixed with angst. The angst doesn't stem from any innate fear. No indeed, not fear of terrorism, not fear of flying on planes, not a fear of religions run amok, not even fear of nuclear threat. My angst stems from being a victim, yet again, of the banner of patriotism wrapped around the corpse of our memories.

I have a genuine pain when I think about the world trade center. I have an honest dread recalling where I was, what I saw, how I felt. It was bad when it happened, and the aftermath even worse. But the legacy of a president, dogmatically waving the bones of our dead at us as a justification of repression and war is more than I want to stand. At least when I'm sober.

I don't fault the man for grandstanding at the site. Honestly people wanted him there with the bullhorn to say that we're not cowed, never will be cowed, that we will have our revenge for what had been done to us. That was a necessary act, and the people of our nation needed it said in the most direct of fashions, with the most direct of images. But as the cliche goes - that was then.

So, apart from devastating a nation that was in no way related to the terrorism of 9/11 where are the heads we were promised? Yes, we did dismember the Taliban, push them back into who they were way back when their enemy was Russia and we were giving them the toys to shoot back with. But the "mastermind", where is his head? Weren't we promised that?

So here we are again, years later. The man in charge is once again going to shake the specter of fear at us saying:"Our great country, our way of life, our freedom is under attack by those who envy what we have. There is only one way to fight this threat, and it is his way. We must unite under one man and have faith that his vision is the only solution to making America safe again."

You know, there's no nice way to say "You fucking asshole, you're the real problem now. You're the one stripping our freedoms in the name of saving them. You're pissing off the world and leaving us holding the bag as you walk away into a nice, protected retirement for the rest of your life."

Yes it's that time again, time to remember how a bad situation can become worse. It's time to face up to the fact that what terrorists failed to do, our government can to with complete impunity.