six months have passed since the events of september 11th. possibly the most catastrophc event in american history. markets crashed. airline security was tightened. people started worrying about bomb scares and anthrax scares. a single event that changed everything surrounding our american life... for a few months.
oh yeah, it's rant time, baby! six months later, and what did have to show for it? besides the return to party bickering (which at this point, the republicrats are really just arguing who can be more bullheaded) and the mcdonalds like airport security workers, all we have to show for it is flailing interest in hunting down terrorism, concern over energy policy so americans can continue to dump gas into their general motors earthfuckers (tm of dennis miller!) that get a half mile per gallon, and a series of 'homeland security' policies ranging from that despicable patriot act (orwell was only 16 years early) and some continued hope that a missle defense system will somehow prevent us from dirty nukes in suitcases and biological weapons. is anyone else pissed off out there? let down? looked at what happened on 9/11 and thought to yourself 'this is a great moment for progress and reform' and got nothing out of it except some eye candy on cnn? mother of god, i was ashamed to be apart of this country beforehand (i know, move to canada, hippie!), but not i'm downright enraged. and contrary to public opinion - for good reason. let's do a quick recap of the issues i covered previously.
terrorism and the new war
let's see. after funding a multi-billion (or is it in the trillions now?) military to protect american soil by using state of the art equipment, weapons, tracking devices, and coffeemakers - our great nemesis of the free world, who shits in a bucket in a cave and uses substandard equipment, is still free, roaming the world somewhere. and what has the administration done about it? switched to a target they could fight, of course. bush's proclamation of the 'axis of evil' comprised of iran, iraq, and north korea not only demolished talks with those nations that have been at least showing some progression over the years, but simply just told the sheep-like american people to look over here while they cover up any trace of failure in afghanistan. anyone want to place bets on how long peace remains in afghanistan? didn't think so - we need to put up a missle defense system to protect us from the new nemesis out there! and if that one doesn't work out, by god, we'll find another one! the war on terror has been reduced to political bullying with countries we've disliked because of their control on the oil industry by proclaiming that their methods of warfare, which admittedly target civilians, are 'acts of terrorism' and that their government should clamp down or let the good ol' united states step in and take care of installing a democracy. i've had it. the war isn't fought with guns, bombs, airplanes, or anything anymore. reorganize the military, reduce its spending by making it more efficient and ready to fight a terrorist enemy as opposed to countried, and give that money back to us in some form or another.
media's spin cycle on high
even the so-called 'liberal' media is no longer reporting on some of the atrocities happening in favor of 'normal' stories to return us to the same ridiculously self-absorbed lives we used to live or reporting about the great military advances we are making in combatting terrorism.
god, religion, and spirituality
somebody forwarded me an e-mail titled 'our response to islam' about two days after the tragedy. i immediately hit reply all and made sure everyone understood that what happened was not the islamic people as a whole punishing the americans, but a small band of nutcases (however respected and rational) currently located in afghanistan. some people had to flame me back immediately calling me such things as 'sandnigger lover'. i had to laugh. we really do live in a bubble in the united states. remember those networks i was blasting a minute ago? well, the one thing i have liked seeing was their in-depth look at islam. it was a very enlightening experience to learn about islam, muslims, and the qu'ran. i think we should all learn a less from this. islam is a very pious religion. it has a few ideas that seem foreign to us, but overall, it's a very good religion. it is the fastest growing religion on the planet, in fact. i would argue that judaism and islam contend for the 'most pious' award in religion. and i also must give thanks to the government for making it very clear that we aren't attacking a religion. (bad 'dubya' for using the word 'crusade' early on. bad! bad!) however, the world has been becoming at bit more holy since the attacks, which i think is a good thing. call me crazy, but a few more god-fearing individuals on the planet is not necessarily a bad thing. and on a final note: fuck jerry falwell, that ignorant, no-good, scum-sucking bastard. i don't need someone pushing a political agenda right after a tragedy. god didn't do what happened on september 11th - people did. there is no punishment against our lifestyle. god doesn't directly act like that anymore. (see onion blip "jerry falwell - is that guy a dick or what?")
interesting odds and ends
and now, for some quick tidbits from life afterwards. the porn mail came out on 9/12, just like any other day, with the added exception of looking at the junk mail with 'help support america' in the subject line. clever, boys. the rashes of race-related crimes has been deplorable. some back alley action with a crowbar is necessary, not solitary confinement, for those people. people have been happily returning to their lives, but hopefully will not forget this. i think they will, though. most people still can't find afghanistan on a map. most people don't know what a 'sikh' is. and if one more person says 'towelhead', 'sandnigger', or 'ragtop' i'm going to kill people. and god bless guiliani. he is doing the best damn job as mayor ever, for any city in history. rudy, you are truly an example to follow in the future.
where we go from here
for those of you sticking around, still, i want to say a little bit about where our nation is going. we are going to live in fear for a great long time. the anthrax scare in florida is reaching new heights. people are super paranoid. i think this a good thing - we are out of our comfort zone. the new war against terrorism is a good thing, i think. we need purpose for our 'lost generation', and this helps. of course, i'll be damned to help defend the country through violence, but i'll support what i can. finally, this has the look of another cold war after all the 'most wanted' list come to justice, which is something i'm afraid of. i don't want to fight another 'red menace', no matter how great the tom clancy novels would be out of it. we need to start focusing more on global politics, and helping the people in our nation after this threat is annihilated, not inventing boogeymen to keep people elected and funding going toward an ineffective military for this new type of conflict. we need to keep our coalition, move toward a more peaceful, diversified world, and instead of bombing the countries back to the stone age, make them useful countries to support themselves without a terrorist leader calling the shots. where we go from here depends on our attitude, our focus, and our resolve. i won't dictate what they should be for you all, but please think before doing -anything- now. one person can change the world, still. we saw that happen 9/11. or did you forget already?
