Please forgive me while I put on my political pants today. It’s not a topic I truly like talking about, as I’m convinced it’s all bullshit and that people are way more crazy than I am.


Every September 11 has been the same format for several years. People harking “Never forget” and sharing the oft told story of where they were when it all happened. While I understand that I tend to be less emotional about some things, this is still a ritual I have not fully grasped. True, I cannot look at footage or read about those events without breaking down into an emotional mess. I didn’t lose anyone personally, but seeing the names and faces of those on the planes and in the towers still stings.


Yet, while it may be therapeutic to some to share those moments of where they were, I don’t see how reliving the moment would do anything for me. When I think of 9/11, I think of the events that transpired as a result.


I remember trying to get gas, as I was on E that day, being prone to drive the whole tank. So many people surged onto the pumps that it was almost impossible for those of us who actually NEEDED gas to get some.


I remember the paranoia. I remember how every power failure in the days following was blamed on terrorists. Hell, the phone lines went down once at my job back then, and the first thought was “OMG! Terrorists!”


I think about the invasion of Iraq, and how so many people were quick to celebrate the attack on the terrorism, quickly forgetting that Iraq wasn’t who attacked us.


I think about the political platform that formed so easily with the death of 3,000 people, and the xenophobia that was quick to rear its ugly head. And I see that 9 years later, it’s still kicking strong.


I think about how quick people were to sign over their freedoms under the guise of more protection.
But mainly, I think about how the world would never be the same. My kids would not know life as I knew it prior to 2001.


So who won? Are we safer, freer, happier? Or have we willingly compromised those things we loved so much about this country in order to pretend we are?


If sharing to everyone for the 9th time that you were in a McDonald’s taking a dump when the first plane hit keeps you blissfully ignorant of what all was lost on that day, by all means, be happy. But I am not joining in this ritual.