This Makes Me Ill

Interesting argument, though it's built on the false premise that all 2,973 who died were Americans, which they weren't. A majority were, sure, but a fair number weren't.

 

Ah yes, but this is the first time since the Civil War that lifespans are projected to decline in the United States while our education and innovation advantage over other nations is narrowing. We work more hours for less pay and have fewer and fewer things to show for it. Yet as a nation we are apathetic about politics because all politicians are the same.

The basic message: "We're mad as hell and we're not going to do anything about it."

Well, I don't believe all politicians are the same. I believe that politicians who lead us into national embarrassment based on lies are worse than those who go along with it because of a mixture of ignorance and complacence. I think politicians who support progressive causes in the abstract but can't seem to get anything done in the here and now need reinforcements, mass reinforcements. I think that we as a populace should demand an end to corporate welfare (i.e. giveaways through the energy bill, the bankruptcy bill, the prescription drug bill, social security privatization efforts, etc.) The people who wish to lead you down the path of thinking all politicians are equally corrupt are the ones who want to continue to control the corruption.

We are a weakened state not only because the politicians have failed the people, but because the people have failed one another. We've sold our freedom for a complacent existence and cheap all-you-can-eat buffets.

 

Interesting, but premised on the notion that they attacked us "because of our freedom" which in my estimation is only about 1% right. I don't think freedom and security are mutually exclusive propositions. We're not dealing in absolutes here. This country is not absolutely free nor absolutely secure, but until very recent times it had the best mix of both in the world.

 

"Sacrifices on the altar of freedom" is not the same as "because of our freedom," not even in the same ZIP code. I think you're missing the point of DFW's essay.

 

Guess so. But 9/11 is not a certain baseline vulnerability to terrorism is part of the price of the American idea we should accept.

 

Awwwwwww. I'm flattered.

 

Ignorance in a dictionary has the photo of Mr. Gee right next to it.

 

OK, through national ignorance, of which everyone was guilty, we allowed 20 homicidal maniacs to kill thousands of innocent people. Human error is eternal.
Invading another country because of a lie is a crime. Torture is a crime. Trashing the Constitution is a crime. We sat back and let it happen.
Clone, there are a great many people in this country who like the idea that their nation has become a cruel power based on hate and fear. They suck. I have no reason to believe you are one.
But know this. There is not one person whose signature is on the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution who would not today be in armed rebellion against the United States of America. That's what I mean about deserving it. We took a catastrophe and let it become an excuse to trash ourselves.
Oh, yeah, the guy who caused the catastrophe. We let him get away.

 

I'd say we payed Hirohito and his country back pretty handsomely.

 

I just find it funny that you say 9/11 happened because of a national ignorance.

I believe it happened because we as a nation don't want to be looked at as racist and mean and still to this day refuse to profile at airports. We as a nation must either fight for our lives full force or sit back and take what these idiots think we deserve.

The whole problem with this war is that instead of going in and taking care of business with all the weapons at our disposal we decided to fight a PC war trying to rid the world of "evil doers" while at the same time attempting to look good in the eyes of a bunch of Stone Age-living terrorists that will never look favorably upon us no matter how much good we do in their neck of the woods. We could donate all the money in the world to fix up nations after bombings, natural disasters or any other situation and they would still want us all dead. That's not a fear tactic, that is reality.

 

RSC --
We are handicapped in our ability to be barbarians because our founding documents say we shouldn't be, lest we betray what we boast to the world that we are.
"The Declaration of Independence makes a difference," said Melville, of a crisis that actually DID threaten our existence as a nation.
The notion that "political correctness" -- the source of which, like most of the people who sling it around idly, you haven't the faintest clue -- had more to do with the 9/11 atrocities than, say, official negligence would be hilarious, if it weren't so sad. So what do we do now? Arrest anyone Muslim-looking on sight? Glass over the desert? Let the nukes fly? You want to live in ancient Rome, be my guest. Just don't talk about the land of the free while you do it.