I started following an interesting Twitter account a couple of weeks ago. This account (@WWIIToday) is sending updates around the 70th anniversary of events from World War II. While there are arguments around the official start date of the war, there is some consensus around September 1, 1939. This is the date that Nazi Germany invaded Poland, and plunged Europe into devastation. Just over two years later, the span of the war spilled onto the global stage with the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese forces. December 7, 1941, "a date that will live in infamy" changed our nation. The politics of the Great Depression had already put its stamp on America. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal established our first real social services safety net to ensure that all citizens would not slip through the cracks. But Pearl Harbor united the country for a singular purpose, and no sacrifice was too great, no innovation too small. The war was over in less than 4 years after America entered the fray. We were brought in against our will, but ended it with the two biggest bangs ever unleashed on humanity to force our enemy into surrender.
My roommate woke me up 8 years ago stammering about a horrendous plane crash in New York. I was watching live when the second tower was struck, instantly realizing that this was no accident. 9/11 became a rallying event for my generation, just as Pearl Harbor was for my grandparents. But 9/11 didn't last. It didn't take long after the initial shock wore off that we went back to our hyper-partisanship that had been the norm for the prior 10 years. (Incidentally, I don't mean to speak ill of the recently deceased, but in my opinion the spiral into the current state of name calling and invective from both sides of the aisle can be traced back directly to Ted Kennedy's treatment of Robert Bork during his Senate committee hearing for confirmation to the Supreme Court.) Now to be clear, I would probably be classified as a conservative Republican, but I am completely against the war in Iraq. To be sure, Saddam Hussein was an evil man, but we should have had all of our ducks in a row after taking care of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. If we had focused our energies there, maybe we would have already captured Osama bin Laden, and wouldn't be seeing a resurgance of the Taliban in those countries. But we were attacked, and I do support declaring war on those who did us grievous harm.
But we didn't really go to war. We were told to go shopping. The old Vietnam era quandary of 'Guns and Butter' has reared its ugly head upon us 8 years later, and we are now experiencing a major recession. I'm guilty of some glutteounous consumerism during this time, but I'm definitely trying to change. My question is simple: why weren't we asked to sacrifice for our country? I think we squandered an opportunity to fundamentally change the way we subsidize various sectors of the economy that end up forcing us to depend on imported fossil fuels.
We have had brave Americans in harm's way for 8 years now. That is twice the length of time we spent in World War II. It's time to get our act together, pull together, and defeat our enemies around the world. 9/11 is not a day to try to push a new plan for National Service, that diminishes the memory of the victims that made the ultimate sacrifice. 9/11 should be a day for a new plan to win the war on Terrorism. And it's disappointing that the current administration has begun to change it's terminology in an attempt at revisionist history. It's also no surprise that the news headlines today also mention the Senate approving massive military budget cuts requested by the administration. I do not approve of speeches asking us to try to understand the mindset of the hijackers, equating their desolate upbringing to the despicable acts they inflicted upon our nation. The only reason I want to understand their mindset is so we can figure out a way to use it against them while hunting them down.
No nation is perfect, especially ours. But taken in its entirety, America is the greatest nation on Earth. The millions of people attempting (and succeeding) in migrating to our shores proves that beyond a shadow of a doubt. We have flaws, but that's simple to explain. We are a nation of human beings, and humans are flawed. But in the neighborhood of nations, ours is the house where all the other kids want to come to play, and everybody wants to be friends with the parents. We don't need to apologize for every single one of our little mistakes, we should be focusing on all of our successes. So let's succeed against our enemies, be good neighbors and friends for those who are willing, and move forward into the rest of the 21st century. But never forget those 3000 victims from 8 years ago, and the only service we should be looking into when remembering is service that would help our nation's military finish this war as soon as possible. And history shows that once we've defeated our enemies, we do everything we can to turn them into our friends. Because that's the American Way. Anything less, and any other plans for commemorating today cheapens their memory.
My roommate woke me up 8 years ago stammering about a horrendous plane crash in New York. I was watching live when the second tower was struck, instantly realizing that this was no accident. 9/11 became a rallying event for my generation, just as Pearl Harbor was for my grandparents. But 9/11 didn't last. It didn't take long after the initial shock wore off that we went back to our hyper-partisanship that had been the norm for the prior 10 years. (Incidentally, I don't mean to speak ill of the recently deceased, but in my opinion the spiral into the current state of name calling and invective from both sides of the aisle can be traced back directly to Ted Kennedy's treatment of Robert Bork during his Senate committee hearing for confirmation to the Supreme Court.) Now to be clear, I would probably be classified as a conservative Republican, but I am completely against the war in Iraq. To be sure, Saddam Hussein was an evil man, but we should have had all of our ducks in a row after taking care of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. If we had focused our energies there, maybe we would have already captured Osama bin Laden, and wouldn't be seeing a resurgance of the Taliban in those countries. But we were attacked, and I do support declaring war on those who did us grievous harm.
But we didn't really go to war. We were told to go shopping. The old Vietnam era quandary of 'Guns and Butter' has reared its ugly head upon us 8 years later, and we are now experiencing a major recession. I'm guilty of some glutteounous consumerism during this time, but I'm definitely trying to change. My question is simple: why weren't we asked to sacrifice for our country? I think we squandered an opportunity to fundamentally change the way we subsidize various sectors of the economy that end up forcing us to depend on imported fossil fuels.
We have had brave Americans in harm's way for 8 years now. That is twice the length of time we spent in World War II. It's time to get our act together, pull together, and defeat our enemies around the world. 9/11 is not a day to try to push a new plan for National Service, that diminishes the memory of the victims that made the ultimate sacrifice. 9/11 should be a day for a new plan to win the war on Terrorism. And it's disappointing that the current administration has begun to change it's terminology in an attempt at revisionist history. It's also no surprise that the news headlines today also mention the Senate approving massive military budget cuts requested by the administration. I do not approve of speeches asking us to try to understand the mindset of the hijackers, equating their desolate upbringing to the despicable acts they inflicted upon our nation. The only reason I want to understand their mindset is so we can figure out a way to use it against them while hunting them down.
No nation is perfect, especially ours. But taken in its entirety, America is the greatest nation on Earth. The millions of people attempting (and succeeding) in migrating to our shores proves that beyond a shadow of a doubt. We have flaws, but that's simple to explain. We are a nation of human beings, and humans are flawed. But in the neighborhood of nations, ours is the house where all the other kids want to come to play, and everybody wants to be friends with the parents. We don't need to apologize for every single one of our little mistakes, we should be focusing on all of our successes. So let's succeed against our enemies, be good neighbors and friends for those who are willing, and move forward into the rest of the 21st century. But never forget those 3000 victims from 8 years ago, and the only service we should be looking into when remembering is service that would help our nation's military finish this war as soon as possible. And history shows that once we've defeated our enemies, we do everything we can to turn them into our friends. Because that's the American Way. Anything less, and any other plans for commemorating today cheapens their memory.
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