Such a strange feeling from the tenth anniversary of 9-11

I don't know if I can put my finger on it but there is a strange feeling I am getting from this "event."

I get the feeling America is...going through something rough with this tenth anniversary. Something unpleasant but not life-threatening, perhaps like something that makes you vomit a little and feel queasy for awhile.

Because people are forced to contrast America now with America ten years ago. And as Americans we are forced to admit some very uncomfortable home truths that are hard for Americans to admit:

-We lost ground over the last 10 years in every meaningful way. We are no longer the land of limitless horizons and eternal expansion. And deep down everyone knows it.

-We lost a lot of our moral ground. The US is no longer a big friendly giant in the world...it is an ogre. We like to tell ourselves we are the good guys. We can't say that with a straight face anymore, and deep down everyone knows it.

-Ten years ago, American institutions from the Military to the Stock Market seemed robust. You might not like them, but nobody would argue they were weak. Today...these "hallowed institutions" have all the gravitas of a rodeo-clown collective....and deep down everyone knows it.

There is a sadness to the 9-11 anniverary that goes beyond the events of the day itself. People are mourning something that died in America...something that died and has never been properly buried, and is now smelling a little pungent. We aren't allowed to mourn for that dead thing...so we pretend to be mourning 9-11. But what we are really mourning is the death of the idea of America we all grew up with...and know we will never see again.

I love you, America.

Wow, well said. I was having similar thoughts when I caught some of the news coverage today. It all just seemed so hollow.

Not to mention how it has been cheapened by every channel trying to cash in by coming out with their own documentary. The best way to honor those that died is not some stupid tv special, but by trying to improve ourselves and this nation. Instead we bicker with each other, polarize ourselves on every issue from politics to race to religion and everything in between.

Its shameful.

I posted a similar response on another thread that goes something like we are really celebrating the very day that America became a dimmer, slightly uglier version of itself. The day when we ceased to be the land of the free. Its almost like the anniversary of the nations soul departing.

I always love your posts.

I agree with the sentiment. Reminds me of when someone gets blindsided. They get up, dust off, gather their senses/regain clarity, and move on.

Maybe it's taken a decade for us to get up and catch our breath, and now maybe we can hopefully regain our clarity and move forward while changing some of the negative things we've been doing while dizzy during the last decade so that we can truly improve our nation's situation (and by that I mean the lives and futures of as many Americans as possible).

People have to want it. Demand/insist on it, even.

-We lost ground over the last 10 years in every meaningful way. We are no longer the land of limitless horizons and eternal expansion. And deep down everyone knows it.

This is an incredibly vague statement, but individuals like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg come to mind as an argument to your viewpoint. Those individuals have redefined technology and they did it from within America's borders.

-Ten years ago, American institutions from the Military to the Stock Market seemed robust. You might not like them, but nobody would argue they were weak. Today...these "hallowed institutions" have all the gravitas of a rodeo-clown collective....and deep down everyone knows it.

I completely disagree. Like them or not, the United States Military is far from weak today. 10 years of technology advancement and untold amounts of funding tend to make a military industrial complex stronger (again, like it or not). One of the reasons that we didn't see the 9/11 attacks coming was because of reductions in international intelligence agencies via Clinton. Also, 10 years ago the stock market was not what I'd consider robust. Between January and September of 2001 the NASDAQ fell by over 38% and the Dow by 14%. Anybody that worked back then remembers a seemingly down economy, especially after the dot com bubble burst.

There is a sadness to the 9-11 anniverary that goes beyond the events of the day itself. People are mourning something that died in America...something that died and has never been properly buried, and is now smelling a little pungent. We aren't allowed to mourn for that dead thing...so we pretend to be mourning 9-11. But what we are really mourning is the death of the idea of America we all grew up with...and know we will never see again.

There is no denying that a form of innocence was lost that day, but the mourning of the events and lives lost on that day are very real to many people, especially those that lost loved ones and the heroes that gave their lives to help others. I understand that your comments do not come from a negative place necessarily, but vague statements about how everyone feels this way or that way and using the phrase "we" to represent Americans, as well as not having any facts in place about history, makes me wonder what point you're really trying to make.

I hear ya! Well said indeed.

Just watch this video, the last 30 seconds or so especially, of Obama speaking at the memorial. Watch his body language and how he raps up and then watch the look on Bush's face. There's something incredibly telling in Obama's cadence and Bush's general demeanor.

www.youtube.com...

reply to post by allstarninja


You named two people, far from an earth shaking counterpoint. Exponentially more companies are outsourcing and focusing on burgeoning markets elsewhere in the world. Many are even moving their hqs to other nations. Ibm is chinese owned now....

Even your example in apple is hollow. They get the majority of their parts for their ipads and iphones from china, not exactly a manufacturing boon for the US.

And mr. zuckerburgs "contribution" is questionable at best. Facebook has done a fine job of destroying real, tangible, personal connections between people and replacing it with quantity over quality. Who cares that you have 1000 "friends" online, how many are legitimate true friends to you? The ones who would help you in a time of need whether its convenient for them or not? The only kind that matter. This lack of personal connection is part of the overall problem in our nation.(end mini rant)

Our military is still the strongest in the world for the time being. But there is no faith in it any more. We aren't perceived as saviors any more, we are a bully in the eyes of the world now. And how about the fact that we are practically broke. Servicemen aren't even guaranteed pay any more! I got a buddy who serves on a carrier that hasn't been paid in a month and a half! And we have innovated some new toys but they aren't even dependable. The f22 and f35 have been grounded due to the fact that they might break apart midflight... Meanwhile more and more nations get closer to owning nuclear weapons. Countries like china and russia are developing better weapons weapons everyday. Russia has a new stealth fighter equivalent if not better than the f22. China has unveiled their first carrier, a carrier killer missile, attack drones, the list goes on....

The fact is, we are a shell of what we used to be, and the sooner we admit it, the sooner we can change it.

I was speaking with a couple in their 80's the other day and their comment about 9/11 seemed pretty spot on to me.
They said "once we became afraid as a nation we gave the terrorists what they wanted". I might disagree with them on who the real terrorists are or were but they were right.
If their goal was to make us be afraid then they won.
If they hated us for our "freedoms", again, they won because we have lost so many of them.
It's like chasing down someone that bumped your car and we're so hell bent on catching up to them we blow our motor up. It wasn't worth it and we're coming to that realization now that the full price of it is becoming clear.
We have changed as a nation and I would argue not for the better.
Good post

Rodeo clown collective.
You certainly have a way with words Partygirl.

Well written OP!

I actually felt like I had a bad hangover yesterday.

I still have a strange feeling this morning....maybe I just need my coffee first.