one month has passed since the worst attack on american soil by a foreign nation in the history of the world. four short weeks ago, we would bicker about the small stuff in life - confine our existence to only those things immediate, ignoring the rest of the world out there as america sunk into new levels of isolationism with our blossoming economy. then, a slump, four plane crashes, and a million tears later, we're suddenly starting to re-evaluate the whole mess.
i guess i wasn't surprised by it in terms of the level of destruction, nor by the implements used. i was shocked by the very fact that it happened, but not by terrorism being taken to a whole new level. i cried. i called my family. i e-mailed friends in new york waiting for a response. i sat glued to cnet radio and cnn later that day watching everything - gobbling it up like some bad movie. and that's really what it was like - a movie. i've already heard so many lines that i once thought cliche now making a great deal of difference. phrases such as 'i love you', 'god bless america', and 'praying for (insert name here)' were real. no longer etheral. no longer far away. right here and now.
enough introduction. many of you are always curious what is going on inside my head at any time. i guess i wonder that same thing. with these events, i sent a call out to my mailing list and to some boards that i frequent looking for responses. i got two. that's ok, though. many people don't know what to think about it all, or are busy trying to get back to some semblance of a normal life. but, since i never had a normal life to begin with, this was an easy translation. my goal here is to examine different points of what occurred, the aftermath, and what happens from here. as always, comments are appreciated.
terrorism and the new war
another cliche line i had forgotten has been one that our fearless leader 'dubya' has been using - 'the new war of the twenty first century'. for once in a great long time, i agree with him. terrorism is not something new. we heard of bombings, gassings, shootings, etc... all focused against us in some way or another, but never coming close to home. terrorism is the perfect form of warfare for a number of reasons. first, it doesn't take a whole lot of people. we have gone from the times of hot army on army action with their many phallic symbols, to guerilla warfare stretching out across murky jungles during vietnam, technological push-button warfare of the gulf war, and finally into a more refined 'enemy' - terrorism. your army is hidden all throughout the world. your technology is enough to level entire cities when done properly. your agenda is not territory, but disruption and long term destruction of a nation. you can, at a few decisive moments, sink an entire nation into recession and economic withdrawal - cause diplomatic issues, and hold the world at ransom, james bond style. you have no real reason to hold on to a concept of a just war. people have called the terrorists irrational, but we must give respect where respect is due. they are the near perfect enemy. i respect their tactics and their cunning, if not their motives and ideals. we must learn not to underestimate in light of this.
media's spin cycle on high
if there is anything i hate, it is media spin. almost immediately after the first plane crashed, the networks scrambled to put on the most cutting coverage, the best stories, the best interviews - made me sick. for a week, images of the buildings coming crashing down were sprayed all over the world's televisions. each time a turn of the knife in the wound. each time trying to get a better angle, better footage. it was hard to stomach. but this isn't what was getting to me. it's what's transpired since then. headlines of 'attack on america', 'america's new war', 'america under attack'. it's crazy how hard the media was pumping up bloodthristy rage and defiance to bomb the shit out of every country within 1000 miles of the middle east. and the speculation, the journalism, the constant hammering - it's deplorable. the best place to get your news, by far, has been the onion. i prefer their frank headlines such as 'holy fucking shit - attack on america' and 'us vows to capture whoever it is we're after', and the greatest one 'god angrily clarifies 'don't kill' rule'. and the sad thing is, their articles have been closer to the real truth than anything that the networks are putting out. there is no such thing as unbiased journalism right now, and that frightens me.
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?
