I'm not a particularly big fan of symbolic remembrances, but it's impossible not to think about 9/11 today, and my prevailing emotion is one of sadness. Not (only) for the loss of innocent life on that day, but for the continuing loss of innocent (and not-so-innocent) life using that day as justification.
Mostly, I'm sad that we squandered a rare moment in time when the world was united and ready to stand together, instead cynically deciding to use that moment as a launch-pad for a deceitful war.
This video pretty well sums up what we've given up.
Posted by ahecht at September 11, 2006 9:51 AM
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Well, I'm with you there. In fact, nearly literally: I live in London, I remember the huge concern and sympathy of my colleagues. Sure, some people were saying America had 'brought it on itself' - as if anyone could ever knowingly invoke THAT - but most were just terribly sad, and kind (I'm American; I was born in New York).
My reaction was different. I was scared. I remember saying to one colleague at work, "Don't you have any IDEA what this MEANS? They'll never stand for this, this is it. It's happening NOW, it's here." He's going, "What, what's here?" "It's the thing we've always been dreading," I said, "it's like world war three or something." And he's going, "aw, don't be silly, calm down love, you're just upset."
Anyway, the rumours were that they were going to go for Canary Wharf, too, & I was working practically in Canary Wharf. Hours later when I finally managed to get hold of my mother that was the first thing she said to me - one daughter working downtown and one in Canary Wharf -
But most Londoners' main feeling now is that they hate Blair, and they hate Bush, and they think Americans are unbelievably stupid for voting Bush in, and I think there's some self-loathing in there on account of still having Blair. And then we got bombed, and this summer they arrested those 14 people (one in the next street to me) for that new, foiled, airplane plot. London feels like the front line. Sympathetic sadness feels like a luxury now.
And we've also forgotten what it was all supposed to be about.
I don't beleive that you can say that you have lost anything in the preceding years. What have you sacrificed? A dollar more at the pumps for a minivan that probobly didn't get very good mileage and had shitty emissions? Come on now dude you really owned a camper? I am glad however that I did not see any flower power propaganda on it.
