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On
9/11
September 11, 2002
By Democratic Underground Readers
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I find that the victims of September 11 still come to mind
in a similar way as do my deceased friends and relations.
In the course of everyday life remembrance emerges at unexpected
times. After two full days of watching last year's coverage,
somewhat dazed, I entered the shower and wept for the first
time as I realized that those thousands experienced the comforting
miracle of water on that morning for the last time. They had
no warning that life might end in such a sickening and hateful
way. I still cannot see an image of the towers without a powerful
reaction, and so I will not observe Sept.11 by watching television.
I do intend to bring honor and remembrance to those who were
murdered, maimed, and who continue to mourn both here and
abroad. The same honor and attention will be paid to our military,
ever in harm's way, by paying attention to world events and
by exercising free speech.
It has been said elsewhere that if the terrorists hate us
for our freedoms, they've done a fine job of dismantling them.
Our own leaders have been too quick to attack our freedoms.
The current secrecy of our Government is unacceptable. Our
politicians are disturbingly casual about getting to the bottom
of what was the most immense failure of government in American
history.
Our government is currently working to shatter America's
moral standing in the world by beginning an era of endless
war based on whim and suspicion, while red-handed nations
like Saudi Arabia are coddled. From a moral point of view
this makes no sense, but if you're in the oil business or
the oval office, it makes perfect business sense. And as we
have seen from the start, some have been in a rush to capitalize
on that day in September.
It is our duty to speak up. We may fairly criticize one another,
but we must never strive to silence one another. President
Bush is correct when he jokes about how much easier his job
would be if America were a dictatorship. Democracy is the
difficult thing.
My condolences go to those who can never be fully comforted
in this world. To those who suffered most in the wake of 9/11
in America, Afghanistan and elsewhere; to those in the military
and to their families, I will not forget you.
— Kurt Kurowski
Now we know
What war is like.
Steel, glass, concrete falling,
Bones crunching, blood running, dust rising.
Smell of death everywhere.
A graveyard of rubble,
Where once the pride of the country stood tall.
Now we know
What fear is like.
Lock the doors, spy on your neighbors,
Ignore the Constitution.
Lash out at the Muslims, the Arabs,
The Liberals, the Conservatives, the Democrats, the Nazis.
Firebomb a mosque.
Carpetbomb a country.
Kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out.
Now we know
What reflection is like.
Go to church, pray to God.
Give thanks we're still alive.
Did the bombs we dropped on faraway lands in the past
Return to haunt us?
What kind of society will we leave our kids?
Will we go on the same way?
What else died on this day?
Can we recall when the world held such wonder and promise?
And will it ever again?
Now we know
What hope is like.
Something good will rise from the ashes, some say.
Spirit of '76, common sense.
Patriots fighting the British and themselves.
Moses leading the people to the Promised Land.
Christ rising from the dead.
Cries for justice, not vengeance.
Candles flickering in the wind.
Nations take up arms again.
A few look in the mirror
And don't like what they see.
Now we know
What faith is like.
No matter what happens to us here
In this physical plane,
No one can touch our souls.
We will emerge in a better place.
Though while we are here,
Can we still try
To make this one better?
Can we keep the dream of peace alive?
Before we engage in a war
That may not know victory nor redemption,
Can we pause before the deluge?
Now we know
Or do we?
— Jackson Thoreau
I know that there are many people who choose to leave this
earth by a means determined only by them and will endeavor
to make sure that it occurs as planned. That being said, I
believe that those who perished on that awful day did not
have the above in mind. They were there that day like any
day until.......the world came apart. For those of us who
are still struggling to explain that horrific experience,
I now ask myself, one year later as events unfold,did they
die in vain?
Have their deaths brought us closer together, are we a united
country and will we be able to build better tomorrows? The
only answer I can truly give is a resounding NO! The laws
by which we live crumbled the moment those towers collapsed
and in their place arose a system befitting nations that we
call enemies. We have an unelected president who by whim decides
who to declare war on, who to arrest and which one of our
Constitutional guarantees he choose to ignore. Would there
have been a Patrick Henry or a Thomas Paine who perished on
that fateful day, who would have risen up now as those brave
men did long ago, and spoken out against the tyranny exacted
on the county, I do not know.
This I do know however, visiting your website and so many
others - there are many of us out there who will not be cowed
into being called, but will do as Tom Paine and Patrick Henry
did, rise up and speak out.
— Ruth Gottlieb
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