9/11, Five Years On

Five years ago today, a sunny clear morning changed into something that will be etched forever in American, and world, history.

The attacks of 9/11 is such a complex, multi-faceted topic that I could literally talk about it for hours. But I want to focus on something that's bothered me since sometime in 2002, after the initial shock, sadness and anger wore off.

Where is the sacrifice? After the initial sentimentality and symbolism slowly wore off, we again have forgotten that the world is a lot more chaotic and violent than our splendid isolation has made us see first-hand.

There was an opportunity for the American people, the Bush administration, the Congress, and other elected officials at all levels, to ask Americans, as JFK, said "what you can do for your country." To an extent, some did.

But I think about what happened during World War II, our last declared war. There were shortages as industrial and agricultural production geared up to support the war effort; people grew Victory Gardens and collected scrap materials. Celebrities felt duty-bound to support the war effort.

This time, the Patriot Act notwithstanding, uhhh ... nada. Nope, we got tax cuts. And encouragement to go shopping.

Now maybe it's the nature of the challenge that's different. Maybe because it's more daunting in some respects. We were told that this is a "war" that will take years to fight, and on many different fronts. I worry that our patience is wearing thin, as so many people, left, right, neocon, progressive, etc., are at each others' throats in the same stupid political battles. And this is to our great peril.