It's been 10 years since the event that so shook our nation on 9/11/'01. I am having most of the same emotions as all Americans reignited on this anniversary. I feel like all the nationalistic mantras will be well-represented and so I don't think I can add anything to them, but I do wonder if there will be much attention given to our own national conscience. You know, that ethereal entity our country would rather keep in the closet. It's not easy to go in there. If I were to examine this emotion, I wouldn't do it to the exclusion of how real people lost real lives. Nor would I discount the fact that NYC and Wash., D.C. were brutally attacked not unlike Pearl Harbor was many years and many national identities ago. In short, I was as stunned as all of us.
But I hope others in this country are able to reflect on the big 'why' questions.
Why did this happen in the first place?
Of couse, the easy answer is that a fanatic religious leader led his fanatical faction of religious followers in a hate-filled attack against the West.
No, that's still the 'what' part of the equation.
The 'why', if one looks at it, isn't clear. Not unless you are able to just say it's all Al Qaeda's doing and then leave it at that.
I think that is what our leaders want us to do. Focus on one big boggie-man. Our leaders want us to believe that we have no culpability in the 'why'. It is the same reason we aren't asked to sacrifice much as individuals in any international conflicts anymore. We're told to go shop! Because, if we did have to sacrifice, we would invariably ask questions...questions like 'why?' Why do we care so much about the Middle East?
We're told, in answer to these questions, 'it is in our national interest'...'that our massive presence there is necessary.'
Now, I may not be the most intelligent person around, but I do know when someone isn't being upfront with me, and this response is anything but upfront. Do I need to know every detail about our involvement in any given region? No. But if our leaders are that unclear, I'm going to come to my own conclusions...and I can't help but think that 'our interests' are dubious ones.
They may not even be plural in number. It may come down to just one. Oil.
It's all about oil, folks, and this country may have put itself in the 'Ugly American' role to procure it.
What is the one basket America has put all their eggs in, so to speak? Force...military force. I can't pinpoint the date, but ever since that date, we've gone all-in with military power. That's what we do best. Think about it, though...is this what you want to hang America's collective hat on? Not that we shouldn't be able to defend ourselves, but with a calling card like that, we should probably expect other nations and entities to feel the pinch. We are the bullies of the globe and we're apparently proud of it.
I love Americans in general and their lively spirit in particular. But one trait that doesn't appear much in our national psyche is empathy. The ability to put one's self in another's place.
When I try to imagine what I would feel if I were a Muslim in the Middle East and saw the blatant arrogance that America displays in my country, it wouldn't take long for me to forget all the good the US had done in years past. It wouldn't take long for me to find other people just like me who felt the same way and were angry about it, too. And, knowing myself, it wouldn't be totally out of the question for me to want to be part of any movement to resist that international bully's destructive actions.
It's true that I probably wouldn't want to kill 3000 people in NYC, but I don't know all the facts...and our leaders aren't very forthcoming with those facts. I get a sense that there's plenty more than meets the eyes and ears here in this country. But the powers-that-be seem to like it that way, and this makes me very uneasy when I try to understand the 'why'.
