September 11, 2004

9-11

It's the anniversary today, and I'm not sure what to say about it. Nobody needs me to tell them that it was a horrible, inexcusable event, and a tragedy for everyone who lost friends and loved ones. So I'm just going to point you over to people who do have something more specific to say.

At Daily Kos, DemFromCT shares a personal view of 9-11, and the impact it's had on the local public and emergency personnel who responded at the scene. Meteor Blades suggests that 9-11 become a day dedicated to commemorating victims of terror worldwide.

At Pandagon, Jesse has some inightful and moving commentary about why the terrorists are our enemies. If the teaser strikes a chord with you, please go read the whole thing:

...The lesson I drew from September 11th wasn't about vengeance, retribution, remaking the world through might and money. It was that we are facing people who destroy for a purpose worse than no purpose at all. And if we are to fight them, to turn the world against them, we must fight in a way that is a total and utter repudiation of them. That's not just moral or ethical; it includes their political goals as well. We can't stop them from being a political force simply by killing them - their ideology thrives on an enemy to destroy, and raising the conviction in others that the enemy is worth of being destroyed as well. Our actions matter because we are not operating in a framework where we will simply be taken at our word because we are good and just; we must prove it in the face of an enemy working to convince the world that the exact opposite is true, and do so in order to gain very real political power.

They are our enemy because they kill indiscriminately and without remorse; we must not be the same way. They value the lives of those who follow them only in terms of how much damage they can do; we value the lives of our soldiers and our citizens as those who fight for peace, for prosperity, for enlightenment, whose existence is valuable because of how they can make life better, not how much death they can cause. They view the world as a conflict between those they can bully and those they must destroy; we must, we have to view the world as a conflict between those who can help and those who would hurt. ...

The New York Times maintains a full obituary list of the victims of the 9-11 attacks.

Posted by natasha at September 11, 2004 01:43 PM | War on Terrorism | Technorati links |
Comments

Jesse's description of al_Qaeda sounds an awful lot like the Bush administration.

.....they kill indiscriminately and without remorse

They value the lives of those who follow them only in terms of how much damage they can do.

They view the world as a conflict between those they can bully and those they must destroy

I'm sorry, but that sounds like a pretty good description of the neo-cons to me.

Posted by: Ron In Portland at September 11, 2004 02:29 PM

Religious fanaticism is the root cause of the terrorism that was 9-11, the blowing up of buildings and schools around the world, and ... the actions of the current President of the United States who thinks he, like bin Laden, is acting according to God's will.

Posted by: Scott at September 12, 2004 01:07 PM