Right Wing Nut House

No one is quite sure how memory really works. The mysteries of how the mind processes information, stores it, and then retrieves it either deliberately or when prompted is, we’re being told by scientists, slowly being unravelled. Perhaps someday soon, we’ll know the exact sequence of electro-chemical reactions that lead us to remember,

For now, it’s enough just to say the words “9/11.”

*”Have you forgotten how it felt that day
to see your homeland under fire
and her people blown away?”

Early on in the coverage of the attack, networks made several decisions that to me, remain inexplicable. First, they decided, after a while, to stop showing footage of the planes hitting the towers, people jumping out of windows, and the towers collapsing. The reason for this decision was not just that it would be too “upsetting” for viewers but that it would cause Americans to get angry. For similar reasons, the networks refused to show images from ITV (Britains independent TV network) of Palestiniens and arabs dancing in the streets from the west bank to Baghdad. Our self appointed guardians of good taste and morals (whose highest rated shows are starting to resemble outtakes from the Playboy channel) took it upon themselves to try to quell the rage burning in each and every one of us as we watched, transfixed in absolute horror as those buidlings came down.

“Have you forgotten when those towers fell
we had neighbors still inside
going through a living hell.”

I personally believe they should play those damn tapes everyday. I don’t want NOT to be angry. I want to remember how it felt seeing those towers falling. I want to remember that I had to remind myself-so unbelievable were the images-that there were people…AMERICANS…in those towers…thousands of our fellow citizens…being crushed into powder as millions of tons of steel and concrete pancaked mercilessly, relentlessly to the ground. I want to remember how after a while I wondered why my voice was hoarse only to discover that I had been screaming in horror at the top of my lungs at the TV set without even realizing it.

And I want to remember the tears…tears of sorrow, tears of helplessness, and finally tears of rage.

“”I’ve been there with the solders
As they’ve gone way to war
And you can bet that they remember
Just what they’re fighting for.”

There is nothing wrong with anger. Some of us are old enough to have parents and grandparents who lived through Pearl Harbor. They’ll tell you where they were and what they were doing when the radio flashed the news of “this dastardly attack” as FDR put it. But 9/11 was different. As angry as our parents were the full extent of the damage was withheld from the American people for months. Casualty figures were lowballed and the damage to our armed forces was hidden-partly to keep information from the enemy but also to keep the American people in the dark as to just how naked and exposed the West Coast was to a Japanese attack.

No such cover-up was possible on 9/11. The entire attack was brought to us in living color into our living rooms and family rooms, the kitchen tables and bedrooms, at work, at play, anywhere we happened to be thanks to the all encompassing overwhelming presence of our national media. We’re wired…wall to wall, end to end, coast to coast. And because of that, 9/11 was truly a shared event. Not only did we share the images, we also shared the emotions of that day. And because of that sharing, we became one people…moreso, I believe, than at any time in the history of the United States.

“They say we don’t realize the mess we’re gettin in
Before you start your preaching
Let me ask you this my friend
Have you forgotten?”

Of course, it couldn’t last. The things that divide us; politics, race, religion, region, etc….are too powerful to be kept at bay for long. We are once again, riven with factions. Only this time, as Zell Miller pointed out, we have the uneasy feeling that the divisions have been created artificially…that the debate is not about direction the country is taking but about WHO is going to direct. It’s impossible to overstate how dangerous the game the Democratic party and their misbegotten minions on the far left are playing. In their zeal to bring down George Bush, they seem willing to risk the very existence of the United States as a nation in order to achieve power. That is why this election is so important. It is an election between those who see 9/11 as a cause, a rallying cry, a wake up call to protect our homeland from destruction and those who see 9/11 as simply a horrible tradgedy or worse, a dark plot by the President to seize power, tear up the constitution, and create a police state.

“Have you forgotten all the people killed
Yes some went down like heroes
In that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten about our Pentagon
All the loved ones that we lost
And those left to carry on”

All of us are left to carry on…and remember.

*”Have You Forgotten” by Daryl Worley

Once upon a time, there was an anchorman named Danny. He lived far, far, away in a mythical land called “Bias.” In this land he had many friends, all of whom thought and acted exactly the same as he did. This made Danny very comfortable. As long as everyone thought and acted exactly the way he did, Danny didn’t have any worries at all.

Then, one day, a youngster from the land of Blogs showed up in Bias. And ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE! You see, this lad had DIFFERENT IDEAS! HE BELIEVED IN TRUTH! He believed in saying whatever was on his mind…even if that meant disagreeing with what Danny and his friends said was the truth. So Danny and his friends decided that, in order to protect Bias land they had to resort to extreme measures.

They had to kill the lad from Blogs.

Oh they felt bad about it. At cocktail parties and charity events they all said what a shame it was but that in order to protect Bias land, the lad from Blogs must be eliminated (they also felt not a little smugness and self satisfaction at the prospect…but that’s another story.)

The grisly task fell to Danny. He thought that, if he forged some documents showing that the lad was a shirker and a liar, that everyone else in Bias land would fall upon the hapless youth and eat him alive. It would be easy…after all, Danny had done it before. He was experienced in such matters. And since everyone in Bias land would believe whatever Danny said, there was no doubt that he would be successful.

Danny got in touch with his allies from the Province of Democ. He needed help if the assasination were to be carried out efficiently. Both Danny and the Democs set the date and time of the hit and waited.

At first, everything went smoothly. The documents were dumped on the people of Bias land and sure enough, there was an immediate outcry. “Liar, Liar” they all cried and surrounded the poor lad from Blogs. They made ready to destroy him when, all of a sudden, something miraculous happened. One tiny voice, a youngster named Buckhead, spoke up and said “Wait a minute…these documents don’t look…real…”

And the people stopped dead in their tracks. They had never heard of anyone questioning ANYTHING Danny said. It was heresey! How dare he! He must be from the Province of Partisan Political Operatives…the “evil empire”…the Death Star!

But Buckhead was persistent. With a brilliance never before seen or even contemplated in Bias land, he patiently showed the crowd that yes, the documents couldn’t be real, they had to be fakes. He showed that any 8 year old with a computer could have created documents that Danny said were more than 30 years old.
He also showed it was very possible that the forgeries were created with the help of the Democs who, for reasons too many and varied to go into here, were becoming increasingly unpopular amongst the people of Bias land.

To make a long story short, gentle readers (because I can see your very tired and want to go to bed) the lad from Blogs prevailed and Danny was totally discredited. And what of the people of Bias land?

They were never able to watch the news quite the same way again.

THE END