Well, That's One Idea...
How do you want to commemorate 9/11 this year?
Perhaps a solemn period of silence, as you remember your horror when you first saw a jetliner of full of innocent people smash into a major world landmark? Maybe some somber reflection on what it meant when a second plane struck? Perhaps you'll want to take a moment to hold your loved ones closer, as the memory of those people jumping from the towers and the replayed image of those magnificent structures going down reminds us all of the fragility of life? You might even take a few moments to think about how it is we got from that awful day to where we are now, our soldiers mired in a ghoulish war in a foreign land that played no part in the 9/11 attack.
Or not. The Department of Defense thinks it would be appropriate for you to join a government-organized parade, and top off the day with a concert by country music star Clint Black, who had a hit with "Iraq and I Roll", a ditty of such macho swagger in glorification of our attack on Iraq that it seems sad and pathetic in light of the absence of WMDs, the Abu Gharib photos and the quagmire faced by our troops.
(I fear that Clint may sing that song at that concert. If he should do so, at a Pentagon-sponsored rally "to support our troops", on the anniversary of 9/11, to an audience that has just walked to the Arlington National Cemetery, the intense vortex of cruel, bitter irony, within such a huge self-delusional energy field, could create a quantum singularity that implodes the universe. Let's just say Schroedinger's cat would have desperately clawed its way out of the box before even thinking about it.)
The ever-upbeat Donald Rumsfeld announced the "America Supports You Freedom Walk" this week. (That would be the 'America Supports You' 'Freedom Walk', 'America Supports You' being a Pentagon program "launched by DoD to recognize citizens' support for U.S. military men and women", although it's apparently unclear on the difference between 'recognizing' and 'shamelessly promoting the appearance of'. A 'Freedom Walk' is also quite different from a 'Freedom March'; freedom marching is what's supposedly going on in Iraq. Luckily, we're not so far gone as to require an 'America Supports You, Freedom' Walk, though if I were Freedom, I'd have begun to wonder by now.)
However you punctuate it, it is "free and open to the public", although you must register by 10am on Friday the 9th. (Why, exactly, it is important for people to provide their names, addresses and phone numbers to the Pentagon in order to attend a public rally, held entirely on public streets and facilities in Our Nation's Capital, was not made clear. And really, if you ask, well, you may not be in the target audience.)
I haven't heard yet about the response of any of the 9/11 families. I wonder if it bothers them to have this solemn day co-opted by the Pentagon for a "happy talk" propaganda event to bolster troop morale. Didn't we used to have Armed Forces Day for such things? In case Memorial Day and Veterans Day weren't enough? (sound of Googling) Why yes, here it is, the third Saturday in May! (Was Clint was busy that day?)
It seems to me that 9/11 should be used for something more profound than a Pentagon pep rally, but, hey, what do I know? At least George should be back from the ranch by then, if he can manage to get past Cindy Sheehan. I'm sure he'll be able to tell us why the most important thing for us to be thinking about that day is how much we support our troops, and not, say, our shared loss and once-powerful sense of unity, or the way the whole world was on our side that day, but isn't anymore.
Some of us remember the old days, when marches in Washington were organized by citizens, by and for themselves, and if the government was taking down names, it was abusing its power. We remember when we used to laugh at the government-organized rallies in Soviet Moscow, in Peking and Pyong-yang. What silly propaganda, we would say. Do you suppose those registered for the ASYFW get any cool banners to carry?
Who knew that when they said "9/11 changes everything," that this is what they meant?
Perhaps a solemn period of silence, as you remember your horror when you first saw a jetliner of full of innocent people smash into a major world landmark? Maybe some somber reflection on what it meant when a second plane struck? Perhaps you'll want to take a moment to hold your loved ones closer, as the memory of those people jumping from the towers and the replayed image of those magnificent structures going down reminds us all of the fragility of life? You might even take a few moments to think about how it is we got from that awful day to where we are now, our soldiers mired in a ghoulish war in a foreign land that played no part in the 9/11 attack.
Or not. The Department of Defense thinks it would be appropriate for you to join a government-organized parade, and top off the day with a concert by country music star Clint Black, who had a hit with "Iraq and I Roll", a ditty of such macho swagger in glorification of our attack on Iraq that it seems sad and pathetic in light of the absence of WMDs, the Abu Gharib photos and the quagmire faced by our troops.
(I fear that Clint may sing that song at that concert. If he should do so, at a Pentagon-sponsored rally "to support our troops", on the anniversary of 9/11, to an audience that has just walked to the Arlington National Cemetery, the intense vortex of cruel, bitter irony, within such a huge self-delusional energy field, could create a quantum singularity that implodes the universe. Let's just say Schroedinger's cat would have desperately clawed its way out of the box before even thinking about it.)
The ever-upbeat Donald Rumsfeld announced the "America Supports You Freedom Walk" this week. (That would be the 'America Supports You' 'Freedom Walk', 'America Supports You' being a Pentagon program "launched by DoD to recognize citizens' support for U.S. military men and women", although it's apparently unclear on the difference between 'recognizing' and 'shamelessly promoting the appearance of'. A 'Freedom Walk' is also quite different from a 'Freedom March'; freedom marching is what's supposedly going on in Iraq. Luckily, we're not so far gone as to require an 'America Supports You, Freedom' Walk, though if I were Freedom, I'd have begun to wonder by now.)
However you punctuate it, it is "free and open to the public", although you must register by 10am on Friday the 9th. (Why, exactly, it is important for people to provide their names, addresses and phone numbers to the Pentagon in order to attend a public rally, held entirely on public streets and facilities in Our Nation's Capital, was not made clear. And really, if you ask, well, you may not be in the target audience.)
I haven't heard yet about the response of any of the 9/11 families. I wonder if it bothers them to have this solemn day co-opted by the Pentagon for a "happy talk" propaganda event to bolster troop morale. Didn't we used to have Armed Forces Day for such things? In case Memorial Day and Veterans Day weren't enough? (sound of Googling) Why yes, here it is, the third Saturday in May! (Was Clint was busy that day?)
It seems to me that 9/11 should be used for something more profound than a Pentagon pep rally, but, hey, what do I know? At least George should be back from the ranch by then, if he can manage to get past Cindy Sheehan. I'm sure he'll be able to tell us why the most important thing for us to be thinking about that day is how much we support our troops, and not, say, our shared loss and once-powerful sense of unity, or the way the whole world was on our side that day, but isn't anymore.
Some of us remember the old days, when marches in Washington were organized by citizens, by and for themselves, and if the government was taking down names, it was abusing its power. We remember when we used to laugh at the government-organized rallies in Soviet Moscow, in Peking and Pyong-yang. What silly propaganda, we would say. Do you suppose those registered for the ASYFW get any cool banners to carry?
Who knew that when they said "9/11 changes everything," that this is what they meant?
posted by Paul at 9:18 PM |
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