Two more cents

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Well, it's been a year, so I figure if people actually want my two cents on the events of September the eleventh, you're all ready to hear them.

The word "cowardly" never should have been used to describe what happened. Say what you will, but it takes balls to fly right into your doom. Misguided, yes. Cowardly, no. Oh, no.

The word "evil" should never have been used. If killing people, if killing civilians, is evil, then there is no country in the world that cannot be labeled as evil. Not even the beloved US of A.

One cannot declare "War on Terrorism." It doesn't work. It is, in fact, very similar to declaring a war on drugs. You may slow them down a little and make life more difficult, but there is no way that a military action is ever going to end terrorism. In general, the word terrorism was also horribly overused. This was meant to be the beginning of a holy war, but no one joined the other side. You know why no one sided with Al Quida (pardon the misspelling)? Because they were too terrified of what the united states and the rest of the world would do to them.

Being patriotic because three buildings were destroyed and one was seriously damaged is, quite frankly, silly. I like this country plenty, it's one of the few where my right to disagree with what the government says and does is protected in the bill of rights. I love that. I don't love the president and I think the system still has lots of flaws. I hated being afraid to say that.

Those f^(%*=& little american flag pins pissed me off to no end. The stupid flags on people's cars pissed me off to no end. the $#*!!/ patriotic CD they put in the jukebox at the Diner where I work pissed me off to no end. The country is not infallible, and maybe they were even right in trying to attack it. How many years have we oppressed people in countries we've never seen? Maybe they're not so wrong as people want to think.

Before you all want to kill me for saying that, let me remind you all, a lot of people died. They died stupid deaths, caught up in something they had nothing to do with. 49 died saving the lives of people they'd never know. 12 died for their beliefs. A ridiculous number just died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. People do a whole lot of this dying thing all the time, most of them in places we've never heard of, most of them starving or succuming to illnesses because they didn't have the ability to protect themselves or their children. Most of them die because they had the misfortune of being born into the wrong place at the wrong time. Still more die in stupid conflicts they had nothing to do with, innocent bystanders in struggles between vague and silly ideologies. Most people die because they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Should more people die because they were born in a country other than ours? Because their political and religious beliefs are different from our own? Because their leader hates our leader? Because they are ashamed by what they percieve to be our lack of morals, our lack of piety? Because they hold themselves to different standards? Were they right? Were we?

Who knows?

The people in the world trade centers who called their families as the buildings were burning to the ground didn't ask what was going on, they didn't say they died for their country, or defending freedom. They didn't ask for "justice." They said I love you and goodbye. They knew a whole lot better than the rest of us what was important.

People Matter More Than The Truth
~Edgar Malroy