story6463.xml
Title
story6463.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-12
911DA Story: Story
9.11 Ranting
Well it has been one year since the unthinkable horror of September 11th, 2001. During the past year we have been over saturated by endless words and phrases that describe how much America and it?s population has changed for the better, how we are more unified than we have ever been, how proud and patriotic we have all become, how much deeper our regard for human life is and how much better we treat one another. Shortly after the attacks, President Bush announced that ?We will shine the light of justice on those responsible for this.? One year later, I feel it is high time someone shined the light of realism on America, the world and human nature. Let?s dispense with all the patriotic cliches, oversimplifications and generalizations long enough to take a good, honest look at ourselves and who we really are.
Okay, maybe we are slightly more polite, maybe we hold doors open for others more often, maybe we even say please and thank you to grocery clerks, waiters and the like with more consistency and regularity, but is this an indication that we have changed for the better? Has the murder rate dropped since September 11th? What about rape? Assault? Kidnapping? Theft? Child abuse? Two thousand, nine hundred, ninety nine people were killed as a result of foreign interests on September 11th but if we looked at the statistics, we would see that the horror we inflict on each other on a yearly basis FAR surpasses that number. Many more Americans die at the hands of other Americans than they do as a result of terrorist attacks. One may argue that ?those? types of Americans who commit these crimes are lower class and ignorant -- minorities and gang members who dwell in ghettos or poor, white, backwoods, trailer park trash who have sex with family members. But we know that this is not true. And true or not true, the sad truth is is that these people are still Americans, protected by the same laws and constitutions as everyone else and allowed to enjoy the same freedoms as the rest of us. If the law ever does manage to catch up with them it is almost a certainty that our backward legal system will have them back on the streets as soon as possible. These freedoms that we hold dear are the same freedoms that allow Americans to continue to inflict death and destruction on each other. This is why all these blanket statements about the strength and unity of our citizens are unrealistic, exaggerated and largely untrue.
For some reason when we are victimized by a foreign power, we become outraged enough to start a war against these attackers. How much federal funding do you think President Bush has at his fingertips for this war and how much has already been spent? One billion? Two? Three? More? Chances are it?s more than any of us realize, but for some reason, no president in history has ever tried to mobilize that amount of money to attempt to end the war that Americans wage on each other on a daily basis; a war that results in horror and death for thousands of AMERICANS each year. Americans have been shouting ?world peace? from the rooftops since the dawn of this country, yet right under our noses, right on our very own soil, the real American war rages on.
I am not trying to be cynical or negative, only realistic. The truth of the matter is, human nature cannot be changed. Forget about all the rapists and murderers, etc., the reality of humanity is that we thrive on conflict, we are vengeful and retaliatory by nature, envious of others more successful than we are, materialistic, narcissistic, easily angered by others, egotistical, vein, hedonistic and the list goes on. Let?s be honest with ourselves, who has not cursed someone out or flipped him or her off on the highway since September 11th? Who has not been rude to a telemarketer? Who has not gotten in a verbal or physical fight with someone based on trivial matter? Who has not said, ?I can?t stand that person? to a friend? Who has not thought negative thoughts about someone? Who has not talked badly about someone behind his or her back? And again, the list goes on. We all cried ON September 11th and we?ve all done bad things to each other SINCE September 11th.
Furthermore, as Americans, the negative aspects of our human nature is exacerbated by the fact that we have become accustomed to having anything we want readily available to us. In short, we have become spoiled and we take for granted that our every desire can not only be satisfied but can be satisfied at lighting speeds. And our basic needs like clothing, food, water, plumbing and shelter are taken for granted to the point where we don?t even think about them, even though these would be considered luxuries for the millions of people around the world who go without them every day.
This is not to say that human nature does not have it?s good qualities-- heroism, pride, empathy, kindness, loyalty, devotion, graciousness, generosity, helpfulness and other similar attributes are all a part of our DNA as well. But the difference is is that these qualities are not as readily apparent in us until we are inspired by tragedy or hardship to let them flourish. Our less admirable qualities are far more accessible to us. You would have to be an absolutely soul-less monster to not be deeply saddened and emotionally altered by the events of 9/11. But just because these feelings have inspired our good nature does not mean that we are suddenly all saints. The reality is that September 11th has caused us to show these qualities more often and readily than we have in the past but our less admirable qualities have not disappeared or gone dormant as the media and Bush would have us believe. So it is time for our denial to stop, it is time for us to stop kidding ourselves and it is time for us to go back to accepting ourselves for the deeply flawed people we really are. We are Americans and we are human, this is our nature and there is no changing it. As long as we are drawing breath we will continue to act out of greed, envy and egocentricity. As long as our heart beats, our drive for goals and materialistic gain will cause us to mistreat each other. And as long as our brains are functioning we will hurt and abuse each other out of hatred, anger, jealousy and self-centeredness. And no amount of foreign terrorist attacks on our soil will ever change that. It is a biological impossibility.
Yes, we may be closer to our loved ones since September 11th, we may be more introspective about our existence and we may be more gung ho about our freedom and the protection of it, but has the foundation of who we are really ?changed? as the media and President Bush say it has? Absolutely not. Those of us who do not fall into the murderer and rapist category have merely risen to the occasion of showing our overall empathy and support for the victims and their loved ones. This is also part of our nature but it creates a major paradox in who we are: we can empathize with anonymous victims of tragedies and have compassion for the overall plight of humanity while at the same time inflicting negativity, physical mistreatment or verbal abuse on any individual when prompted (usually by our petty pride, impatience and/or materialism). ?Therein lies the rub? as they say.
You cannot create peace by fighting those who oppose it or those who destroy it. Peace begins in your heart. You choose peace when you ignore an insult from a stranger instead of reacting to it. You choose peace when you don?t retaliate against someone who has wronged you. You choose peace when you back down from the challenge to fight by some drunken loud mouth a bar. The examples of how peace begins are endless. We CAN still have peace in our hearts even though we are jealous, materialistic, etc. by nature. Peace comes when we allow getting what we want, being right or exercising power over someone to take a back seat to those other, more positive aspects of our human nature. And ?world peace? will only come once every person on earth learns how to do this individually.
September 11, 2002
Well it has been one year since the unthinkable horror of September 11th, 2001. During the past year we have been over saturated by endless words and phrases that describe how much America and it?s population has changed for the better, how we are more unified than we have ever been, how proud and patriotic we have all become, how much deeper our regard for human life is and how much better we treat one another. Shortly after the attacks, President Bush announced that ?We will shine the light of justice on those responsible for this.? One year later, I feel it is high time someone shined the light of realism on America, the world and human nature. Let?s dispense with all the patriotic cliches, oversimplifications and generalizations long enough to take a good, honest look at ourselves and who we really are.
Okay, maybe we are slightly more polite, maybe we hold doors open for others more often, maybe we even say please and thank you to grocery clerks, waiters and the like with more consistency and regularity, but is this an indication that we have changed for the better? Has the murder rate dropped since September 11th? What about rape? Assault? Kidnapping? Theft? Child abuse? Two thousand, nine hundred, ninety nine people were killed as a result of foreign interests on September 11th but if we looked at the statistics, we would see that the horror we inflict on each other on a yearly basis FAR surpasses that number. Many more Americans die at the hands of other Americans than they do as a result of terrorist attacks. One may argue that ?those? types of Americans who commit these crimes are lower class and ignorant -- minorities and gang members who dwell in ghettos or poor, white, backwoods, trailer park trash who have sex with family members. But we know that this is not true. And true or not true, the sad truth is is that these people are still Americans, protected by the same laws and constitutions as everyone else and allowed to enjoy the same freedoms as the rest of us. If the law ever does manage to catch up with them it is almost a certainty that our backward legal system will have them back on the streets as soon as possible. These freedoms that we hold dear are the same freedoms that allow Americans to continue to inflict death and destruction on each other. This is why all these blanket statements about the strength and unity of our citizens are unrealistic, exaggerated and largely untrue.
For some reason when we are victimized by a foreign power, we become outraged enough to start a war against these attackers. How much federal funding do you think President Bush has at his fingertips for this war and how much has already been spent? One billion? Two? Three? More? Chances are it?s more than any of us realize, but for some reason, no president in history has ever tried to mobilize that amount of money to attempt to end the war that Americans wage on each other on a daily basis; a war that results in horror and death for thousands of AMERICANS each year. Americans have been shouting ?world peace? from the rooftops since the dawn of this country, yet right under our noses, right on our very own soil, the real American war rages on.
I am not trying to be cynical or negative, only realistic. The truth of the matter is, human nature cannot be changed. Forget about all the rapists and murderers, etc., the reality of humanity is that we thrive on conflict, we are vengeful and retaliatory by nature, envious of others more successful than we are, materialistic, narcissistic, easily angered by others, egotistical, vein, hedonistic and the list goes on. Let?s be honest with ourselves, who has not cursed someone out or flipped him or her off on the highway since September 11th? Who has not been rude to a telemarketer? Who has not gotten in a verbal or physical fight with someone based on trivial matter? Who has not said, ?I can?t stand that person? to a friend? Who has not thought negative thoughts about someone? Who has not talked badly about someone behind his or her back? And again, the list goes on. We all cried ON September 11th and we?ve all done bad things to each other SINCE September 11th.
Furthermore, as Americans, the negative aspects of our human nature is exacerbated by the fact that we have become accustomed to having anything we want readily available to us. In short, we have become spoiled and we take for granted that our every desire can not only be satisfied but can be satisfied at lighting speeds. And our basic needs like clothing, food, water, plumbing and shelter are taken for granted to the point where we don?t even think about them, even though these would be considered luxuries for the millions of people around the world who go without them every day.
This is not to say that human nature does not have it?s good qualities-- heroism, pride, empathy, kindness, loyalty, devotion, graciousness, generosity, helpfulness and other similar attributes are all a part of our DNA as well. But the difference is is that these qualities are not as readily apparent in us until we are inspired by tragedy or hardship to let them flourish. Our less admirable qualities are far more accessible to us. You would have to be an absolutely soul-less monster to not be deeply saddened and emotionally altered by the events of 9/11. But just because these feelings have inspired our good nature does not mean that we are suddenly all saints. The reality is that September 11th has caused us to show these qualities more often and readily than we have in the past but our less admirable qualities have not disappeared or gone dormant as the media and Bush would have us believe. So it is time for our denial to stop, it is time for us to stop kidding ourselves and it is time for us to go back to accepting ourselves for the deeply flawed people we really are. We are Americans and we are human, this is our nature and there is no changing it. As long as we are drawing breath we will continue to act out of greed, envy and egocentricity. As long as our heart beats, our drive for goals and materialistic gain will cause us to mistreat each other. And as long as our brains are functioning we will hurt and abuse each other out of hatred, anger, jealousy and self-centeredness. And no amount of foreign terrorist attacks on our soil will ever change that. It is a biological impossibility.
Yes, we may be closer to our loved ones since September 11th, we may be more introspective about our existence and we may be more gung ho about our freedom and the protection of it, but has the foundation of who we are really ?changed? as the media and President Bush say it has? Absolutely not. Those of us who do not fall into the murderer and rapist category have merely risen to the occasion of showing our overall empathy and support for the victims and their loved ones. This is also part of our nature but it creates a major paradox in who we are: we can empathize with anonymous victims of tragedies and have compassion for the overall plight of humanity while at the same time inflicting negativity, physical mistreatment or verbal abuse on any individual when prompted (usually by our petty pride, impatience and/or materialism). ?Therein lies the rub? as they say.
You cannot create peace by fighting those who oppose it or those who destroy it. Peace begins in your heart. You choose peace when you ignore an insult from a stranger instead of reacting to it. You choose peace when you don?t retaliate against someone who has wronged you. You choose peace when you back down from the challenge to fight by some drunken loud mouth a bar. The examples of how peace begins are endless. We CAN still have peace in our hearts even though we are jealous, materialistic, etc. by nature. Peace comes when we allow getting what we want, being right or exercising power over someone to take a back seat to those other, more positive aspects of our human nature. And ?world peace? will only come once every person on earth learns how to do this individually.
September 11, 2002
Collection
Citation
“story6463.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 9, 2026, https://www.911digitalarchive.org/items/show/9272.