Ugh. She's going to talk about 9/11.

[jianantonic]

I guess 9/11 is my generation's Pearl Harbor, or something.  Except that one could argue that this nation changed for the (way) better after WWII.  I am in no way proud of America's involvement in that fight, or any fight, because I'm one of those bleeding heart pacifist people, but I do think there are huge differences in the way we as a country reacted to those two attacks.  

I feel like post-9/11 America has been a lot like a family that's had a child kidnapped.  Suddenly the parents are overprotective of their remaining children, to the point that they're so paranoid of danger that they absolutely strangle their kids out of any life of their own.  And those kids are forever fucked up because of it.  It seems like America "got over" WWII a lot better, and forgive me for saying this, but at least that was a real war.  What is Afghanistan?  Iraq?  Have there ever been any real goals in mind?  How many Americans even REMEMBER that we're still fighting a war in Afghanistan?  And what will it mean to "win" these wars?  Is that even possible?  I'm thinking...no.  It just feels like the government of 9/11/01 signed us up for an indefinite wild goose chase, you know?  And as long as it persists, we'll be like those poor children with the paranoid, overprotective parents who don't even really care about us because they're too obsessed with what happened to the kid they lost to devote any real energy to actually being parents.

Perhaps it's a silly analogy, but it feels about right to me.  I just feel like our government is so obsessed with the idea of terrorism that everything else gets neglected.  So while we're not being killed by terrorists, citizens are starving to death, or dying of treatable illnesses because they don't have insurance, or whatever....  And I'm also not all that convinced that our government is DOING anything about terrorism, even.  I mean, besides using it to incite fear and win elections.

All I know is that I haven't been proud to be an American since before 9/11.  That's what changed for me.

Peace.

Comments

[vroope.livejournal.com]

I really dig that analogy. ^^

It's like David Cross said, the "war on terror" is a complete joke. At what point can you honestly wipe your brow and say "Well, that's it, got em all."

As for America in a real war...ha. Either foreign invasion or civil war will be the next real experience with war we have. And I seriously doubt we'll be experiencing the former.