eleven long years.

Every year that I've had this blog up, I've posted a short bit in remembrance of the horrors that took place this day, eleven years ago. Most of the time it's been a photo, since words seem so inadequate at such a time.

I pondered where we've come to as a nation since while driving home. And I thought to myself, "Self, you do realize that your daughter will never know what it was like to grow up in a safe, free nation." At the time, I thought I was just getting overemotional. After all, I still can't recall what happened without tearing up.

But after all the weepy touchy-feely female shit passed over, I thought some more about that. And after Falcon shared something on Facebook that totally underlined everything I'd been thinking, I decided to put it out there for discussion.

We've all seen the memes out there that talk about how our kids are missing out on something important, just because they never had to walk to school uphill in the snow barefoot both ways. This is not like that.

Mayor Giuliani was being interviewed on the radio this afternoon, and he reminded us that it doesn't matter whether you or I or the president or anyone else in this country believes that we're still fighting a war. The enemy does.

An entire section of the world – a radicalized Middle East – is hellbent on defeating the Great Satan wherever it finds it.

Yet an entire swath of this nation – and most other modern Western nations – naïvely believes otherwise. Oh, they'll go through the motions today. They'll make the right posts, they might fly the flag, maybe even wear something patriotic. And that's the limit of it. Tomorrow we go back to believing that everything is right in the world.

It's not.

– Today, two of our embassies were attacked. Allegedly because the peace-loving followers of a mythical megalomaniac took offense to his portrayal in a film. The response from the executive office? We apologize for giving offense.

Funny, no one apologizes when Christians are picked on, portrayed in less-than flattering ways, or have their sacred traditions mocked. Guess I'm missing something.

– Today, we snubbed the leader of the only free, democratic – and more pointedly, non-Islamic – nation in the Middle East. Supposedly it was because the Anointed One is too busy campaigning. Bibi was offered a meeting with Hilary instead.

Every other link I tried to post on this is putting the blame squarely on Netanyahu, claiming he's chest-thumping and that this is an "unusual snub" (Reuters), ignoring the fact that the Lightbringer has dissed the Israeli leader every time they've met.

And I don't blame Bibi for getting antsy. Iran's ready to go nuclear and mention wiping Jerusalem off the map at least three times a day. And what does the rest of the world say? Read the headlines. It tells you everything you want to know.

And as for pop culture…

– Today, a major news network that I don't take seriously further demeaned itself by skipping the moment of silence for 9/11. 

Apparently, the boob job of a middle-aged wanna-be celebrity is FAR more important that properly observing the commemoration of an event that altered this country beyond repair.

But it gets worse. Today, I asked my daughter what today was. She couldn't answer me.

I'm obviously paying too much in tuition, if current events are allowed to pass without notice. I'll fix that myself.

Comments

[nhfalcon]

Well said, ma'am.

And I humbly thank you for the hat tip.

[Jeanette]

It doesn't matter if it is one year or eleven. Everytime you see it it gets more horrible and you are right, it has changed this country forever. I really can't imagine schools not teaching this, what are they teaching then. Maybe the alphabet so the kids can text whle they walk into you in the store. Reading, so you can read it. No history, current events or social studies. We are in big trouble.

[Jo]

They didn't talk about 9/11 in school? The conference I am at had a moment of silence, and many of the presenters reflected on it in their speeches. I'm not sure about Willow - my crew is all home sick with a stomach bug today, so she didn't go to school.

[Cindy in un-Happy Valley]

Can I stand up for the kidlet for a minute. She might have misunderstood the question. She might have been thinking something like, birthday, dr appt, etc. (having been caught flat-footed myself on occasion). If you had asked what happened 11 years ago today, she probably would have caught on. But I wasn't there.....so maybe not.

As for everything else. Spot on. The "war" may be over for us....it sure ain't for "them". Which means it ain't for us either.