"Ashes Of American Flags"

If I were someone given to broad political introspection--which I'm not--I'd probably have quite a bit to say about today and the third anniversary of the World Trade Center attack. I think that day was one of the worst in American history--not because, as many would probably argue, it ushered in an era of fear, squelched freedoms, and war, but because someone out there decided they hated this country and its people enough that they'd ram an airplane into a building full of people just to make a point. I don't care what your religion is, what your personal beliefs about Americans in general or American policy is, killing people to make a point is never right. Our behavior since that day three years ago has been hit and miss--on the one hand, the attacks brought out some of the best in Americans. But it also brought out some of the worst in all of us. In a lot of ways, we've proven the people who committed those horrible deeds three years ago correct in their opinions of Americans--we've started wars, we've overthrown governments, we've acted unilaterally, we've restricted the freedoms of our own people in the name of the national security and the spectre of terrorism.

I don't even like thinking about politics and political-related things. Politics, like religion, tend to be based on issues of faith. On average, you're not going to convince someone of the rightness of your position based purely on logical arguments, because what makes sense to someone who is a liberal does not make sense to someone who is a conservative, and vice versa. What makes sense to a Christian doesn't to a Muslim, and vice versa. When two people approach the world from completely different viewpoints, how do you convince one that the other's stance is legitimate and worthwhile, or, better yet, the right stance? Making people give up their political and religious stances is a difficult and dangerous task, one which most people will never manage. And probably shouldn't, I don't think. I can't exactly explain why, but what's the point if we all think the same way? That's not how humanity moves ahead, but rather how it becomes stagnant. I don't want stagnation, I don't think.

So maybe we should think about why people behave the way they do once in awhile, eh? Think maybe that there's a reason someone would ram a plane into a building--perhaps it's because they think people can be useful as an example (which is a terrible thing to do, obviously, and I'm not saying it wasn't), or perhaps they thought it was the only way to get their point across. Perhaps Americans need to reflect on why folks would hate us that much. Just food for thought.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Wilco, "Reservations"