By Bryant Clark
I yearn for the day we can think about US foreign policy and not think about 9/11.
A comedian I saw today on TV said something along the lines of “9/11, the day that made Pearl Harbor no longer significant.” Is that all we’re waiting for? The next attack to focus on? Maybe I’m naive but I hope that we, as Americans, are striving for something more than physical security in this “Post-9/11 Era”.
Looking at what has happened in the past 15 years or so, both politically and personally, I would hope that we can look around in the present, look to the past, and look forward to the future to realize that maybe there is more to life than ‘which group has the bigger guns or the cleaner record.’
I’m not saying 9/11 wasn’t a tragedy. I’m simply suggesting that when we look back on 9/11 and “never forget” perhaps there is more to think about than death, vengeance, tightening our the grip on the world and tightening our grip on ourselves.
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| Photo Courtesy of CNN |
I yearn for the day we can think about US foreign policy and not think about 9/11.
A comedian I saw today on TV said something along the lines of “9/11, the day that made Pearl Harbor no longer significant.” Is that all we’re waiting for? The next attack to focus on? Maybe I’m naive but I hope that we, as Americans, are striving for something more than physical security in this “Post-9/11 Era”.
Looking at what has happened in the past 15 years or so, both politically and personally, I would hope that we can look around in the present, look to the past, and look forward to the future to realize that maybe there is more to life than ‘which group has the bigger guns or the cleaner record.’
I’m not saying 9/11 wasn’t a tragedy. I’m simply suggesting that when we look back on 9/11 and “never forget” perhaps there is more to think about than death, vengeance, tightening our the grip on the world and tightening our grip on ourselves.
I got into a discussion with someone at my school's dining hall about this today.I essentially feel that no matter what we do, there will always be some bastard who slips by the radar undetected. Why worry? I mean we can have some level of security, but there is a fine line between where we are secure and where we are free. If we're giving up our freedoms with such laws such as the patriot act, stripping naked at airports - forfeiting 4th ammendment rights, and even more ridiculously laws that define you as a terrorist suspect if you own more than 7 days worth or food, a firearm,own nightvision, have less than all 10 digits and more (http://theintelhub.com/2011/12/14/10-ridiculous-things-that-make-you-a-terror-suspect/) then what have we really gained at the expense of the freedoms we once took for granted? A little safety? For how long? Where are we really safe? For how long can we be safe from everything everywhere?
ReplyDeleteWe can't be. There is a virtue to our own physical safety, but life is inherently dangerous anyway. What would it be without that? Safety is fantastic but it's not the number one most important thing. Death and tragedy are inevitable outcomes in life and though we can try our best to minimize them, there is no stopping them completely. So instead of living in fear of another 9/11, be happy be free and feel safe even when you know you are not. It's really about the only thing you can do.
Another tragedy will strike some time, and we'll all be pretty shaken up by it. But people are resilient and we will recover. Live life to the fullest, and don't worry about what might eventually happen somewhere some day. I guarantee if it does it will be in the time and the place that no-one saw coming - but there's no sense in fearing that time and that place if we don't even know where to look.