Sunday, September 11th 2011

September 11th 2001

The pain and shock of the attacks gave us a measure of clarity. We were hit hard enough that we felt like justice was on our side and we no longer had to feel guilty for standing up for ourselves. The need to think about everything temporarily went away, we were no longer processing, we were reacting and it felt good. For a brief shining moment the country became aware of external enemies and was united. We stopped being fragments warring with each other over power, influence and race, and we became Americans. Had that clarity been sustained, the country today would be a dramatically different place. But it diminished and fell apart, and our identity went with it. We were once again our own enemies and the real enemy went unrecognized. Now the anniversary of the attacks has become like the memory of an old war that was fought once, but no longer really matters. The nation is at war, but it doesn't know that it's at war. And those who know that we are at war, often can't even state who the enemy is. - Sultan Knish