Aren’t we all glad the fifth anniversary of 9/11 is behind us? I even got tired of reading the editorials I agreed with. Fortunately, we don’t have television anymore so I was spared the worst of the media hype. The political hype, though, is unavoidable.
I doubt that it’s possible to have a simple 9/11memorial service that isn’t laden with political agendas. On the other hand, I had my own little ongoing memorial throughout the day, remembering the shock and horror I felt as I began to follow events on TV, marveling at the selfless courage of so many.
I remembered the remarkable occasion of members of Congress standing on the steps of the Capitol singing America the Beautiful. Here are the words:
"O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea! "
And so much for national unity. It seemed, for a brief time, like we might for once do the right thing and stop there: punish the terrorists, free a country and help it rebuild. The world would have loved and respected us for generations. It would have been a far safer place.
Now, we’ve lost that unity and the good will of the rest of the world, and our leadership still claims to be promoting democracy abroad while it tries to stifle it here at home. We’ve never been more divided and more despised. None of this had to happen. Many warned that it would, and they were ignored or ridiculed.
I am saddened and angry, and at the same time I feel removed from it all. These early fall days are much too fine to be spent brooding, and nothing, it seems, will much change for the next two years of the Bush administration.
In the meantime, bless the peacemakers and the caregivers. They have more courage and hope than I do right now. It always falls to them in times like these.
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