9/11 Five Years Later
One of the things I remember the most about 9/11, and really the time immediatly following that horrible day was the way America really did come together, people of all stripes, religions, colors and political persuasions.
Keep in mind, we were still a very divided country after the 2000 election, but 9/11, while a horrible action, seemed to be a cure for much of that divide.
Unfortunately, 5 years later most, if not all, of that coming together love seems to have been lost. Political parties have decided, that like the pre-9/11 world, politics is more important that doing what's right.
Today we once again use national security as a political football. One side claims if the other wins we'll all be overrun by Islamofacists because once again we'll be weak and not want to respond. The other claims that if the current folks stay in power the jackbooted thugs will finish removing all of your civil liberties.
Both sides are full of shit, but that's besides the point. They are both playing to their bases, and folks with more than 3 functioning synapses in their brains should understand that. If you believe the ACLU that the Patriot Act stripped all of your civil liberties you've never read the RICO act, which outlawed nearly every item in the Patriot Act. In fact, in about 4.5 years the ACLU still hasn't found their test case to get it overturned.
If you, on the other hand, believe that no one from the left is capable of leading with strength, I think you are wrong too. Though I will admit, the left's most vocal voices have sure made it seem like they won't, and worked to silence anyone who shows strength.
If you think George Bush is the reason for the war on terror you haven't clicked on the link on my right sidebar that says "Think the War On Terror Started On 9/11". The truth is he's the first president in two decades to believe that it is a war, not a law enforcement problem to handle terrorists.
If you think that somehow being nicer or less critical of some folks would make things different probably didn't click on that link either. Most of the list is populated with events we did very little, if anything after, and it didn't matter, another attack happened anyway.
If you are one of the many folks who want DHS and other government agencies to make us perfectly safe from another attack, and want a perfect response is there is one, get real. Condi Rice has made a great point for the last 5 years about dealing with terrorists. For us to win, and never sustain another attack we have to be perfect; we need to have the right info, people in place, and make the great decisions 100% of the time. For the terrorist to win they only have to be successful once.
If you think you can argue every technicality, bitch about every perceived infringment of a terrorists "rights", worry that we don't give lawyers enough time to look stuff over before we try then you will probably bitch when we aren't right that 1% of the time that allows another attack to happen. I say this because it seems that the same group that bitches that everything isn't perfect is complaining about how anything is done (Senator Feingold, I hope you are reading this.
If you believe the hype from some folks that George Bush promised a cake walk in the War on Terror, you never listened to him talk about it. For five years he's said our resolve as a nation would win, but never said it would be fast, or pretty.
Take a minute tonight, and think about what 9/11 really was, an attack on your way of life, you freedom, and your country. If you think we should do less to prevent the next attack, ask yourself how well doing less worked in the past.
Technorati Tags: September 11th, Terrorism, Politics
Keep in mind, we were still a very divided country after the 2000 election, but 9/11, while a horrible action, seemed to be a cure for much of that divide.
Unfortunately, 5 years later most, if not all, of that coming together love seems to have been lost. Political parties have decided, that like the pre-9/11 world, politics is more important that doing what's right.
Today we once again use national security as a political football. One side claims if the other wins we'll all be overrun by Islamofacists because once again we'll be weak and not want to respond. The other claims that if the current folks stay in power the jackbooted thugs will finish removing all of your civil liberties.
Both sides are full of shit, but that's besides the point. They are both playing to their bases, and folks with more than 3 functioning synapses in their brains should understand that. If you believe the ACLU that the Patriot Act stripped all of your civil liberties you've never read the RICO act, which outlawed nearly every item in the Patriot Act. In fact, in about 4.5 years the ACLU still hasn't found their test case to get it overturned.
If you, on the other hand, believe that no one from the left is capable of leading with strength, I think you are wrong too. Though I will admit, the left's most vocal voices have sure made it seem like they won't, and worked to silence anyone who shows strength.
If you think George Bush is the reason for the war on terror you haven't clicked on the link on my right sidebar that says "Think the War On Terror Started On 9/11". The truth is he's the first president in two decades to believe that it is a war, not a law enforcement problem to handle terrorists.
If you think that somehow being nicer or less critical of some folks would make things different probably didn't click on that link either. Most of the list is populated with events we did very little, if anything after, and it didn't matter, another attack happened anyway.
If you are one of the many folks who want DHS and other government agencies to make us perfectly safe from another attack, and want a perfect response is there is one, get real. Condi Rice has made a great point for the last 5 years about dealing with terrorists. For us to win, and never sustain another attack we have to be perfect; we need to have the right info, people in place, and make the great decisions 100% of the time. For the terrorist to win they only have to be successful once.
If you think you can argue every technicality, bitch about every perceived infringment of a terrorists "rights", worry that we don't give lawyers enough time to look stuff over before we try then you will probably bitch when we aren't right that 1% of the time that allows another attack to happen. I say this because it seems that the same group that bitches that everything isn't perfect is complaining about how anything is done (Senator Feingold, I hope you are reading this.
If you believe the hype from some folks that George Bush promised a cake walk in the War on Terror, you never listened to him talk about it. For five years he's said our resolve as a nation would win, but never said it would be fast, or pretty.
Take a minute tonight, and think about what 9/11 really was, an attack on your way of life, you freedom, and your country. If you think we should do less to prevent the next attack, ask yourself how well doing less worked in the past.
Technorati Tags: September 11th, Terrorism, Politics
posted by Crazy Politico at 10:22 PM
4Comments:
Just had to stop by and leave a comment....Politico is my maiden name :)
Thanks for the reminder on the timeline. I have someone in mind to share it with today.
You are so right. Thanks for reminding us.
It is a day that will live forever in infamy and both sides will get what they can out of it. That being said, I feel a little safer with conservatives in power.
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