What's The State Of Our Union?

Today is a day of reflection for many people, after all, it marks the anniversary of the worst terroristic event ever on U.S. soil. There have been and will be tributes to the people who died and all those that were affected by the events that occurred on that tragic day. Let me be honest and straightforward about all of this. Anybody who lost someone or even thought that they might have, anyone who who had to live with the aftermath, having it impose on their daily life, those people have every right to remember it how they wish. If they want to have a ceremony every day then so be it. After what they lost and went through I don't feel that anyone has a right to say a word otherwise to them. I myself did not know a single person that was in the Twin Towers, at the Pentagon or on United Flight 93. Nor did I know any police or emergency workers involved either. My admiration and respect go out to them for what they went through.

However, everytime I've gone online the past few weeks there have been constant stories about 9/11 and for the most part they all seemed to be sensationalistic. By that I mean they all are trying to upstage the other with intense images and gutwrenching stories. There doesn't seem to be any resolve to look at it in the proper manner. Instead it's as if all that is cared about is ratings or website hits and because of that these stories have the appearance of being crafted very carefully for maximum effect. It's sort of like in a movie where you're hit over the head with music at just the right moment in order to draw the emotions from you. Personally I hate being hold "Hey, this is the part where you cry." I kind of like figuring it out for myself.

What I find myself thinking is where are the stories about the real reasons that horrible day happened? Or how about stories reflecting on the state of our union now compared to then? Or even how about detailing the lessons we've learned after gaining knowledge from our past mistakes? Nothing. Instead the powers that be would rather we reflect only on the emotional part of the equation. That way we're all kept in our places. We only have these stories that distract us and keep us away from where our attention really should be. Like for instance why don't we hear about our soldiers in Afghanistan that are guarding poppy fields that belong to warlords we're trying to keep on our side? I might add poppy fields that produce heroin which is illegal to have/distribute/use in this country. A ton of money has been lost, totally unaccounted for and is there any question about the fact that we're paying them for their loyalty? Our forces are giving viagra to these older leaders because they have multiple wives and they need to show how viril they still are to their wives as well as their soldiers. Anything to get them on our side even though they have no real loyalty to us or our cause. If we have to pay someone to be on our side then they have no real stake in helping us to succeed with our mission so can we really depend on them when it counts?

I'd love to see them bring all of our soldiers home safely but there's too much money to be had in war so big business won't let that happen right now and the politicians will do as they are instructed. If this all sounds pessimistic I don't intend for it to, it's just that I'm a realist and that's how I see things, without the constraints of whether something should or shouldn't have happened. I don't want to offend or upset those that lost somebody a decade ago (and since) but as a veteran I have to say what I feel. There are far too many soldiers being shuttled between Iraq and Afghanistan on multiple tours, it's time to bring them home. Better late than never. I understand as well that my opinion might be drastically different if I had a direct involvement with anything that happened that day. The fact is however that I don't and so I write this on this day as I reflect on where I was ten years ago, where I am now and where I might be in another ten years. I can only hope that it all gets better.

Published by Don Leach