Wow, has it been 11 years already? I can still remember that day. I was glued to my TV, trying to figure out what was happening to the world around me. The moment filled me with fear and anger then finally a deep sadness. I knew the world had changed but looking back now, I didn't know that it would change the way it did.
My grandparents generation had a similar day to deal with, Pearl Harbor Day. That generation faced their nightmare with great sacrifice and determination. They had already gone through the Great Depression but were ready for the challenge that laid ahead. Within four years, America had not only defeated Japan but had also saved Europe from Hitler. By 1952, 11 years after Pearl Harbor, the United States might have been in another war but was also living in the Golden Years of the 50's. We were the great economic super power in the world and things were only getting better.
So what happened to us?? After 9/11, I do remember people coming together. You remember congress sing "God Bless America"? I still get chills thinking about it. The local grocery stores where I lived sent supplies to the rescue workers in New York. We were actually united as a nation. My roommate at the time did ask, "how long is this going to last?" The answer was not long enough. The neo-cons that were running the White House at the time decided to take the ball and run with it. With the country supporting the president, the republicans starting pushing their agenda down our necks. The money junkies on Wall St thought this would be a good reason to start a real estate bubble since we needed to save the economy after this tragedy. Liberals could only hold the tongues so long but in the end had to maintain their war with conservatives. Both parties had no problem creating more government bureaucracy to invade our lives while keeping us "safe." They both voted for the Patriot Act and gave more power to agencies like the NSA and CIA.
Here we are today in worse shape than ever. We are still in the Middle East with troops dying nearly everyday. We have lost more Americans avenging 9/11 than those who died that day.The politics of America is more bitter than ever and we can't even be polite to each other. The TSA gropes young kids and tells us its for our safety. Our economy has been shipped to China and we are 16 trillion in debt. What maybe the tragedy of 9/11 is not that day but how we have lived our lives since that day. God Bless America...... because we need it.
Platt Robertson
Write-in Candidate for President
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