Remembering 9/11
It's very hard to believe that it was five years ago today. It was the second day of my third year of university. I'd hit the bars the night before, and was sleeping in before enjoying my first day of an all-afternoon class semester. In other words, life was good. My mother called me around 9am, and got my roommate to wake me up. When I got on the phone, my mother was in hysterics and told me to turn on CNN. I did, and couldn't believe my eyes, especially when I saw the first tower collapse.
Someone on MySpace was saying if you ever think things are bad now, look back to 9/11 to realize how bad it was then. As horrible as 9/11 was, I disagree with that statement. Remember the days and weeks shortly after 9/11 we were all united? Most of the world sympathized with us, and all of us Americans came together, regardless of race, gender, religious or political association. We backed a President who reassured us the culprits would be brought to justice, or as he said "justice would be brought to them" (still one of my favorite Bush quotes).
OK, so what's happened since? Bush failed to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. He failed to destroy Al Qaeda and, in fact, a British report last year said their membership is at an all-time high. Our civil liberties have eroded, our economy has been on a horrible slide. The job market is weaker than it's been in over 25 years. We've been ringing up record defecits. Oh, and not to mention this mess Bush has made in Iraq. We're spending billions to open schools and hospitals in Iraq while several schools in New Orleans are still waiting to be re-opened. And if you think we Americans would come together through all this adversity the way we did on 9/11, you're wrong. We're more divided today than I have ever seen us before. Democrats jump on every mistake Bush makes, even though it's justified most of the time. Republicans defend every decision the President makes, even though most of the time his decisions are indefensible. It's almost as if the logo of the Republican Party should have a sheep instead of an elephant.
Can anyone really look back to 9/11 and say that was worse than anything that's happened since? Keep in mind that while a lot of people had personal connections to the people who died that day, that comprised well under 1% of the total population. Well I'm sure that, for the family and friends of the victims, there is no day more horrible than 9/11, for the rest of us, our beloved country has just been on a downward spiral every day since.
President Bush just doesn't 'get it.' The majority of his policies have hurt this country. His tax cuts sank us billions of dollars in debt while the economy they were supposed to stimulate sank.
The Iraq War has resulted in little more than thousands of Americans and Iraqi's being killed, and the destablization of Iraq, making it a haven for terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. His Patriot Act has eroded the civil liberties many Americans died for. He has pushed policy that would encourage more illegal immigrants to violate our borders. His administration has been led by questionable ethics by people like Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and Scooter Libby. Christian fundamentalists like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell have hijacked control of the political agenda and used it to try and force their extremist agenda on the American people, with full support of the White House.
And through all this, Bush smiles and laughs and waves as though nothing is wrong. And when the facts clearly suggest he's made a mistake, he denies it or shifts the blame. Is he dillusional? Good leadership demands accountability, and with this administration there has been none.
So 9/11 for me is sad for much more than just the tragedy of that day. It's sad for me because it marked the beginning of a downward spiral for our country that is still happening today. My hope for our country is that 2008 will see a new leader, Democrat or Republican, who will restore this country back to sanity and prosperity. Bring it back to the middle. Regain control from the scumbags who are running it now. Unite us like we were right after 9/11. And bring us back to being the country we were on 9/10.
Someone on MySpace was saying if you ever think things are bad now, look back to 9/11 to realize how bad it was then. As horrible as 9/11 was, I disagree with that statement. Remember the days and weeks shortly after 9/11 we were all united? Most of the world sympathized with us, and all of us Americans came together, regardless of race, gender, religious or political association. We backed a President who reassured us the culprits would be brought to justice, or as he said "justice would be brought to them" (still one of my favorite Bush quotes).
OK, so what's happened since? Bush failed to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. He failed to destroy Al Qaeda and, in fact, a British report last year said their membership is at an all-time high. Our civil liberties have eroded, our economy has been on a horrible slide. The job market is weaker than it's been in over 25 years. We've been ringing up record defecits. Oh, and not to mention this mess Bush has made in Iraq. We're spending billions to open schools and hospitals in Iraq while several schools in New Orleans are still waiting to be re-opened. And if you think we Americans would come together through all this adversity the way we did on 9/11, you're wrong. We're more divided today than I have ever seen us before. Democrats jump on every mistake Bush makes, even though it's justified most of the time. Republicans defend every decision the President makes, even though most of the time his decisions are indefensible. It's almost as if the logo of the Republican Party should have a sheep instead of an elephant.
Can anyone really look back to 9/11 and say that was worse than anything that's happened since? Keep in mind that while a lot of people had personal connections to the people who died that day, that comprised well under 1% of the total population. Well I'm sure that, for the family and friends of the victims, there is no day more horrible than 9/11, for the rest of us, our beloved country has just been on a downward spiral every day since.
President Bush just doesn't 'get it.' The majority of his policies have hurt this country. His tax cuts sank us billions of dollars in debt while the economy they were supposed to stimulate sank.
The Iraq War has resulted in little more than thousands of Americans and Iraqi's being killed, and the destablization of Iraq, making it a haven for terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. His Patriot Act has eroded the civil liberties many Americans died for. He has pushed policy that would encourage more illegal immigrants to violate our borders. His administration has been led by questionable ethics by people like Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and Scooter Libby. Christian fundamentalists like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell have hijacked control of the political agenda and used it to try and force their extremist agenda on the American people, with full support of the White House.
And through all this, Bush smiles and laughs and waves as though nothing is wrong. And when the facts clearly suggest he's made a mistake, he denies it or shifts the blame. Is he dillusional? Good leadership demands accountability, and with this administration there has been none.
So 9/11 for me is sad for much more than just the tragedy of that day. It's sad for me because it marked the beginning of a downward spiral for our country that is still happening today. My hope for our country is that 2008 will see a new leader, Democrat or Republican, who will restore this country back to sanity and prosperity. Bring it back to the middle. Regain control from the scumbags who are running it now. Unite us like we were right after 9/11. And bring us back to being the country we were on 9/10.
