It's Manic Monday. This week I think I will skip the rant and go for the memory. With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 yesterday, I got to thinking, "what exactly has changed because of that day?" Yes, air travel has become more inconvenient. We have a sense of loss when we are reminded, but really what else has changed. Have we become a more unified country? Are we truly stronger and better able to care for ourselves? Or did we sink lower than we were before hand? When we are asked to remember that day, some of us tear up and are moved. Some of us simply say what a tragedy, but it's time to move on.
In the first months following 9/11 we saw a united nation. We saw something that hasn't been true of our nation for decades. There was no partisan politics when it came to what must be done. We reached across the aisle and mourned together as Americans. We worked together to find a solution and pass legislation that was required. The sad state of affairs is that less than 10 years later, we do nothing but play the blame game and refuse to pass anything that the "other party" has proposed. The good of the nation has been replaced with the good of the party. Bush is continually blamed for two wars, yet when you look at it through the filter of history you find that the war in Afghanistan was a direct result of 9/11 and a bipartisan war. That's right, it was a unanimous decision to go into Afghanistan and eliminate the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The nation rejoiced when we were told we were going. Yet, not even 10 years later, we blame Bush and denounce the war we all wanted. Granted the announced reasons for the war in Iraq were wrong and less than ideal, but in all it was necessary as part of the war on terrorism. There may not have been WMD's, but there was most definitely direct support of terrorism. Yet, we still denounce this. The biggest problem I have with those that denounce these wars is that they want us to just leave. We, as Americans, don't go somewhere, mess stuff up in major ways and not fix it. It just isn't in our natures. We learned from our past mistakes (at least I hope we did). The fact is that, if we had left these two war zones when public opinion turned against them, they would be havens for terrorists today and back under totalitarian regimes again. When you leave a country torn by war with no leadership or established government, the strongest military force takes charge. In this area of the world, that would be the best armed and that means the very people we went to defeat in the first place. This means we have to establish a stable government before we leave. This means we have to ensure that government can defend itself. This takes more time than we expected.
I find it hard to believe that we have sunk so low in 10 years that we can no longer act for the good of the nation. That we must put the election of those in our party over what the nation needs. That politics has replaced patriotism. That the strength of the party is mistaken for the strength of the nation. Support your soldier was been replaced with support your party. Remember the fallen has been replaced with remember what the other party did. We are no longer happy with doing what is right for the nation, we only blame the party we don't like for where we are. It isn't our fault that we didn't act on what was right, the other party made us. This has become the mantra of both parties and it needs to stop.
As I look back at 9/11 I see 2 tragedies. The first is obviously the loss of life from the attacks and the extremism that spawned the attacks. The second (and greater loss I believe) is the loss of the national unity glimpsed following this tragic day. We saw a unified nation. A nation where differences were put aside for the national good. A nation where, though we may have differed in opinion, we were united by patriotism and the ideals that made the nation great. A nation where we stood together and denounced the wrong. That is lost now. Instead of standing together to denounce the wrong, we stand apart and denounce each other right or wrong. Instead of being united by love of country and national ideals, we are torn apart by opinion and blame. Instead of putting aside differences for the national good, we emphasize the differences and use them to highlight the individual bad. I am saddened by this and look toward the future with trepidation. Unless things change, it will only get worse.
I am not pointing fingers at any party. All parties are to blame. We as a people are to blame. I have fed the flames of separation by denouncing other parties just as many of you have. We as a nation need to stop finding the bad in everything and start pointing out the good. When a new piece of legislation is passed or proposed, we need to find the good in it first. And then try and make it better. Instead we find the bad and say that this makes the entire thing bad. When I offer my children something new to eat, the first thing they see is something unfamiliar. One of 2 reactions ensues, either revulsion because it is unrecognized, or excitement because it is new and maybe better. I work with my boys and have asked them to try it s though they expect it to be good. I understand that not everything tastes the same to everyone, but if you believe you won't like it before you try it, you won't. It's just a given. You won't like it because you have already made up your mind (and none of us likes to admit when they are wrong, especially when it is a matter of opinion and personal taste). The opposite is true as well. If you go into something expecting to like it, you at least have a chance of enjoying it. True, you may sometimes still end up hating it, but at least it isn't due to stubbornness. How many great foods are passed up because we decide they look horrible? The same can be said of legislation. Our first take on it can sour the rest of it. If we believe that it bad before we read it, then it is hard to find anything good in it. But if we look for the good, we may find bad, but we can at least find something worth saving.
I guess what I really want to say is, let's put our priorities straight. We have allowed our priorities to be reversed and it is destroying our nation. Nation before party. Let's remove the party blinders and do good by the nation. I love this country, but it's politics are destroying it. I think we should remember 9/11 and strive to achieve the elusive cohesiveness we had following it. If we wait for the other guy to start first it will never happen. Reach across the aisle and be the first. Lead by example and end the divisiveness that is the catchword of the day. Sit next to someone different from you. Greet your opposite with a smile and a friendly handshake. Step out and be open and honest. Heal our nation.
Thank you for tolerating my rant today. It is just my thoughts and feelings. Thank you. God Bless America.
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