Five Years Ago...

I was actually awake when the first plane struck the WTC. However, I didn't know that was happening because we didn't have the TV on. My mom then dropped me off at school, and it wasn't until my HS Geography class started that the teacher told us what was happening.

Throughout the day, all of us were talking to each other, wondering what the heck was going on. Finally when I got home, my mom had CNN on. They were continually repeating the footage. Towering infernos. People plunging to their deaths. Chaos at the airports. What the hell was going on?

During the first few days after the attack, American flags started popping up all over the neighborhood. We were all in solidarity with the victims and their families, and for once, it seemed like we were all Americans again... That is, until my mom and I started hearing all this talk of revenge. Why punish all the poor souls of Afghanistan because the government allowed the terrorist group to use the nation as "safe harbor"? Nonetheless, we were gald to see the Taliban gone by the end of the year.

But then there was the USA PATRIOT Act. If we were fighting this war to "protect freedom", then why are we giving up all our freedom? Why couldn't the FBI just investigate the bin Ladens instead of investigating our reading habits? Then there was this rumor I was hearing more... and more... and more: Saddam Hussein was the real mastermind behind 9/11. Saddam provided safe harbor for al-Qaeda. Saddam and bin Laden were together trying to destroy America. Now before I go on, let me tell you that BOTH of my parents were staunch Christian fundamentalist Bush Republicans, and I was being groomed to be another one. However, not even I could buy all that bullshit of Iraq being behind 9/11. This is what ultimately caused me to turn my life around... to the left!

Five years ago today, I never could have imagined that the whole world would come together to mourn the dead from that fateful day. However, I also couldn't have imagined that this Administration would take all this goodwill and squander it so they could pursue their lust of profit and empire. I sincerely hope that today, five years later, we remember this great loss of life... By putting an end to the cyclical pattern of terror, and creating a peaceful planet for future generations.