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Remembering Not to Forget 9/11
We must rekindle fading memories of seven years ago — we owe it to the victims and their families. (More from Roger Kimball: Thoughts on 9/11)
We were walking through a mall last month and were greeted by a large mural dedicated to the victims of 9/11, part of which read: “Never forget.”
Never forget? That phrase always made me cringe. Who could forget such a thing? Who could forget the pain, the loss, the rage, the image of smoke, fire, and buildings collapsing while people ran for safety? Who could forget such a powerful, staggering loss?
Not me.
It was a perfect day. Blue skies, fluffy clouds, September warmth. I sat at my desk, the day’s work put aside briefly for my morning blog entry, something mundane about not getting the timestamps right on the blog. Normal, ordinary day. I still lived in a state of mind where I felt the world was a mostly decent place, that people were mostly good, that life would hold no big surprises that I couldn’t handle. And then it happened.
The perfection, the absolute banality of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, was shattered. After a few minutes of struggling to connect to CNN.com and listening to people run into my office with reports (the White House was on fire, there were ten hijacked planes in the air — a real myriad of false, alarming information), I called a family member who was still sleeping. “Wake up, the world is ending.”
The next days, months, years were a succession of anger, tears, and anxiety. I grieved with my father over the loss of his friends and colleagues. I attended a memorial service for a bomb squad detective that included snipers standing sentry on the roof of my childhood church.
Our lives were consumed by this one event. Every day was another new alert, another funeral, another service. Every conversation began with a deep sigh. Every plane in the sky was greeted with apprehension, yet every moment of nothing flying above us was filled with anxiety. We hugged. We held hands. We had a shared community of both despair and hope. Schools were on guard. Malls were on alert. War was coming. Who knew what else was coming with it? We sought revenge. We sought justice. We sought to relieve ourselves and the country of a rage and sadness that had swept over us.
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Michele Catalano lives, writes, and takes photographs on Long Island.
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63 Comments
1. Marina:G-d save and bless America. There is no such thing as a “free world” without America.
Sep 11, 2008 - 2:13 am 2. cedarford:Every generation has it’s cohorts who demand that this day or that day “must never be forgotten” as an obligation of the rest of us. We are told that if future generations forget the Day the Battle of New Orleans was won, the Day of Lindhberg’s Flight, Armistice Day, VE day which 280,000 died and many more were maimed or suffered dearly for – we are bad people. Or the Day that stopped America and will always stop America for a full day of commemoration – when JFK (MLK, RFK), Lincoln, even McKinley… died.
Or the Moon Landing date. Even the Day Hiroshima ended…before it was reborn..
We are also told that we have “Official Days” that must be respected and observed..or we are callous and uncaring. Sept 18th is POW/MIA Day, it seems, for elevating the importance of few thousand of a very small minority in past military service over 70 million others who served and paid sometimes, a much higher price.
But people move on.
Oklahoma City was to be a permanent observance. 30 million was spent on some empty chair sculptures and Federal employees and schools were supposed to have annual observances for the “heroes and victims”.
Just as for years, all media and politicians of Camelot were supposed to flock to The Eternal Flame and get footage of Jackie, Teddy praying and various people laying wreaths and get half the frontpage in newspapers..
Each time, we see the arc of time erasing what we saw as overwhelming personal tragedy or national tragedy or celebration at the moment it happened.
It fades.
It should.
Each “Day that Changed Everything!!” typically goes from everyone wanting to stop everything to mark a special event that they think still shapes their daily lives, to people doing it because it is expected of them, even the speeches grow old and stale the “hero-noble victim narrative” becomes rote, and “The Day” becomes lesser – given new priorities in people’s lives. Finally people have the guts to say “I’m not participating” even get government or organizations – for example – to admit that stopping everything for a moment to “honor the Challenger’s Hero- Astronauts is a ritual that should be retired.
I remember being in St Petersberg in 1996 and experiencing Victory Day. Small crowds, listless soldiers and Pioneer camp kids ordered to parade, and at the memorial, a medium-sized crowd of die-hard Communists, old Patriotic War vets, their living relatives with pics and flowers for deceased Vets they laid at the Memorial.
Two old Commies, sounding very British, complained each year it was less and less. Our tour guide intro’d us to some Red Army Vets, who I thanked for what they did to help America and Europe in that awful time. And slipped 5-6 ten dollar bills to. Through the guide, they said I missed it back in the late 40s, when the celebration was “really something”.
Which brings up the 9/11 bit. The Pit…And how time changing has already deflated the currency of those involved as “Heroes” on the latest Day That Changed Everything! Had the Hero Mayor Rudy run for other office in 2002/2004 – he would have been far stronger than the guy still spouting the 2001 WTC narrative in 2008 – where he was legitimately derided as “Mr 9/11″.
After tossing billions to the “hero government people in uniform” and the Greatest Victims, Ever…the country eventually tired of their demands for more money, grander memorials, and their “absolute moral authority” to tell the rest of the country what we had to do about Evildoers, skyscraper design, allocation of money to Hero First Responders in small towns in W Virginia because “evidoers can’t win”.
We tired of dumb law enforcement officials saying that “hero cops and TSA have to be perfect everyday, fortunately for the public they are, because the terrorists only have to get lucky once…and they WIN!” Or how 9/11, being the Day That Changed Everything – justifies all the Wars on the Neocon Wish List. How 9/11 meant that we owe it to Afghan women to “free them from their burquas” by giving them democracy.
Since 9/11 and its 2900 dead, which is less than some one-day losses in past mostly forgotten battles in other wars, and the 16 million Americans who have died in the 7 years since, many more than 2900 quite tragically….we have a need to recognize with the passage of time that we may not have made many correct calls after 9/11, other than hitting AQ hard in Afghanistan, working harder on nuclear nonproliferation than we were, and what security on vulnerable points in our system that was economical and sensible.
The Chinese will likely be finished rebuilding from their Sichuan earthquake this summer before whatever final structures rising from the Pit are done.
We spent over 300 billion on security pork when it may turn out that only 100 billion was sustainable and cost-effective for America to do long-term.
We lost a trillion plus so far on a war that might have been best avoided for the damage it has done to the US internally and abroad.
We elevated a small, as wars go, initial enemy attack, into an excessive maudlin Mournathon.
And in the process of focusing 80% on the Victims, 20% on the “avenging heroes” – we sorta neglected a serious discussion on America’s international policies that might reduce areas of friction – in favor of the half-thought out Neocon Crusade that Bush called for and quickly dropped “Crusade” word off, but otherwise kept his Wilsonian gambit intact even as allies peeled off…
We shouldn’t forget entirely. The small enemy attack was important. But it is not just about more anaesthetic mourning rituals. We should reflect on the big mistakes America made before and after 9/11 so we don’t inflict as much self-harm on ourselves.
We should have cleared the rubble and started building within a year, as the Pentagon was. Not debating 7 years later if Victim Families want the “weeping waterfall design”.
We should have treated “The Victims” like the Japanese did their 2 million dead in burned and blasted cities. “So sorry, deep honor public and private to the lost…but we must move to our future needs..we cannot wait years in sad paralysis.”
We should have had serious ME/Muslim world foreign policy review instead of neocon military adventurism grasped as the only solution early on. What strategic communications we needed to make to the world carefully considered…what allies needed to be cultivated. Did the Army need more people after 9/11? What domestic spending on security was reckless, imprudent pork going to lobbyist’s clients dubious goods and services? Why was Bush spending 800 million on combat air patrols over cities for a year after his military told him there was no AQ air threat anymore?
Maybe right now, with Bush so despised he was unwelcome at his own Party’s Convention, with America transformed into a nation of near-financial insolvency, few allies left, and the world a much more dangerous place…
People justly want to forget 9/11 and all the shopworn Victim rituals as marking the starting the beginning of a great decline in America, in our ability to get things done together…not as a Day that started us in a new challenge where we proved our greatness as a People all over again.
Because on top of the natural passage of time putting death and Big News in perspective again – we blundered enough that we didn’t establish the post-9/11 time as a particularly proud and distinguishing episode in US history.
Sep 11, 2008 - 2:35 am 3. Martin Lindeskog:Michele Catalano,
Thanks for reminding the readers of this site. I will link to your post when I publish my 9/11 post on EGO. I wrote a post titled “Remember September 11 2001″ last year.
Best Premises,
Martin Lindeskog – American in Spirit.
Sep 11, 2008 - 4:03 am 4. Mickey:Gothenburg, Sweden.
Whenever I need moral clarity, I remember Christine Hanso, age 3, who was on the American flight that hit the Pentagon.
Never. Forget. Ever.
Sep 11, 2008 - 4:32 am 5. kg2v:The thing I find hardest not to forget isn’t the images of 9/11, but the SMELL.
Only people within say 20 miles in that first few weeks will know it (or, from what Dad told me, anyone who had been in Battle in a city – Dad said 9/11 brought back a lot of WWII memories)
The mental image I most remember (among many) – on 9/12, I was standing outside of work WAY on the upper west side (66th and Columbus) and an out of town firefighter (yellow bunker gear and scott pack) was trudging north – you could tell he has walked all the way up from ground zero – dirty, tired, etc – and more than one person offering to carry his gear for him. He replied “No, I just want to be alone, but thanks” (damm – I’m crying again)
BTW Michele – I THINK I may know you. Your name rings a bell. don’t remember where, but…
Sep 11, 2008 - 4:40 am 6. richard:Surely the twin towers should be rebuilt exactly as before but with an additional memorial to those who died? Put New York’s skyline back as it was. Remember what happened and to whom, but make the terrorists’ actions like taking a finger out of a bowl of water and trying to look at the hole left behind. Americans should show us in the rest of the world that no action like this can bow you and nothing will interfere with how you Americans want America to be.
Grieve but defy!
Sep 11, 2008 - 4:49 am 7. mishu:We should reflect on the big mistakes America made before and after 9/11 so we don’t inflict as much self-harm on ourselves.
YAWWWNNNN! It’s our fault again. YAWWWNNNN!
Sep 11, 2008 - 4:55 am 8. Val Prieto:Michele,
Thank you.
Sep 11, 2008 - 5:27 am 9. Broadsword:Darn, Cedarford, if you know and knew everthing that “should” have been done, why have you not told anyone before this? It’s your fault the holes are still unfilled in NY! Traitor!!!
Sep 11, 2008 - 5:27 am 10. Broadsword:Oh, um, I forget. Sarcasm off.
Sep 11, 2008 - 5:28 am 11. Timmer:Knew you’d do something.
Thanks.
Sep 11, 2008 - 6:09 am 12. Moishe3rd:What matters is that the United States of America was attacked by Evil men who hate Life and humanity.
It is incumbent by the principles that this country was founded upon – Justice; Law; Freedom; and Free Will, that that Evil be eradicated wherever it is to be found.
We all need to Remember.
Music helps the heart remember.
The following videos help the heart Remember.
“America Attacked 911″ – A moving Memorial to the victim and events of 911[/b]
[url]http://attacked911.tripod.com/[/url]
“Have You Forgotten?” by Daryl Worely – A video Memorial and Tribute
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpLyZLV4t_I&feature=related[/url]
“9/11 God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood – A video tribute to firefighters and police with the Twin Towers reborn at the end.
Sep 11, 2008 - 6:31 am 13. It's September 11th and The Silence is Deafening | The Secrets Of Vancouver:[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZIApwWq1AU&feature=related[/url]
[...] a great article to remind you of this day… it mirrors my day, so I won’t try to top [...]
Sep 11, 2008 - 6:32 am 14. Lynn:Michele, thanks for reminding us that we were attacked and cedarford thanks for reminding us that it was our own fault after all.
Sep 11, 2008 - 7:06 am 15. Dark Helmet:cedarfrod,
I have a message for you from those who were murdered today.
F*ck you.
You pathetic attempt to try and marginalize what happened is as un American as you are.
We were attacked and we responded. You using this day as a chance to show your libturd biast is worse than anything that will be allowed to be posted here.
I hope that you are not at the next rememberance, I’m quite sure no one will remember you for any ‘good’ except a few communists. Go to hell.
Sep 11, 2008 - 7:08 am 16. TexEd:If Obama is elected, within three months after he is sworn in, the US will be attacked again. Obama will rush to agree to go to the negotiating table (remember, he said “without preconditions”).
Sep 11, 2008 - 7:09 am 17. Xdpaul:Within the next three months, we will be attacked again, giving Obama (Ayers) the opportunity to suspend all sorts of civil rights. Congress will pass anti-hate speech laws that will silence any criticism of Obama and his Muslim brothers. Obama (of course, not Obama, he is not smart enough, the masters who have manipulated him) will establish reeducation camps for middle class folks who require reeducation.
If you enjoyed 9-11, you’ll love Obama!
The cedarfords of the world are just doing their part to keep the alternative always in front of us, further clarifying why we fight.
Sep 11, 2008 - 7:17 am 18. No Runny Eggs » Blog Archive » The Morning Scramble/Open Thread Thursday - 9/11/2008:[...] Michelle Catalano [...]
Sep 11, 2008 - 7:21 am 19. Patterson:God bless the victims and families of 9/11.
*Salute*
SGT Patterson
Sep 11, 2008 - 7:34 am 20. Fat Man:US Army
Go look for the memorial to the thousands who died on that day in today’s NYTimes.
Keep looking.
Sep 11, 2008 - 8:33 am 21. Linda P:We all remember. Who can forget? But (sorry if this sounds disrespectful, which is not intended) weepy memorials are no substitute for revenge. As far as I can tell, no one has really paid for this abominable attack on our nation. Revenge would have gone far in salving wounds which may never heal. Destroying the “holy” spots of Islam would have dealt a fatal blow to our true enemies’ pretensions.
Sep 11, 2008 - 8:46 am 22. 9/11: Remembrance and prayers | The Anchoress:[...] Also writing: Rocco: Pope Benedict’s Prayer at Ground Zero Dick Meyer: 9/11 & the Non-crisis of values Bookworm: Horrifying picture Michelle Malkin: Remembrance & Resolve Lucianne Goldberg: What do I tell the pilot; Tribute to Barbara Olsen (repost) Siggy: In search of a nation’s soul Blackfive: Stand & Never yield Ace:Remembers 9/11 Lorie Byrd: Never Forget Day by Day: no words J’s Cafe-Nette: Do You Remember? Brutally Honest: “The room shook” Andrea Shea King: We remember David Warren: The Anniversary of Sept 10 Lileks: Archived, but worth re-reading Bush 7, Terrorists 0 video tributes PMJ: Remembering Not to Forget [...]
Sep 11, 2008 - 8:49 am 23. RE:I have no problem remembering it.
Everytime I hear the word ‘islam’ I’m reminded. The reality is that ‘you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression’. The lack of unequivocal condemnation from the muslim world set it in concrete. The best they can come up with is babbling obfuscation. It’s not a ‘live and let live’ philosophy by any stretch of the imagination.
Sep 11, 2008 - 9:03 am 24. BJM:Thank you Michele, once again you’re inside my head, and my heart.
Sep 11, 2008 - 10:23 am 25. The Confabulum » Blog Archive » 9/11 Now:[...] Michele Catalano remembers the banality that was shattered… [...]
Sep 11, 2008 - 10:27 am 26. Mike:Obama and his friends (and I don’t mean all Democrats, just the hard-left ones) badly need Americans to forget.
They must not.
Sep 11, 2008 - 10:30 am 27. TroopLover:cedarford wrote:
“People justly want to forget 9/11 and all the shopworn Victim rituals as marking the starting the beginning of a great decline in America…” in our ability to get things done together…”
I am SHOCKED at this cold, heartless,disrespectful statement and I pray that none of the families of 9-11 will ever have a chance to read cedarford’s message of hate! SHAME SHAME SHAME! I have one message for you. Go live in Iraq! Though you may already be hiding out there, from the tone of your message.
For almost seven years, I have had the distinct honor of having regular contact with members of the military & hundreds of the 9-11 families. I’ll tell you this with complete certainty- The prevailing message I receive daily from these special people is
“NEVER FORGET 9-11-01″.
It isn’t the devastation and loss that they want to remember, it’s thier loved ones whose lives were needlessly cut off. It’s remembering the good that came out of such a tragic event. It’s about making sure our children understand what happened that day, so they will not have to live through another 9-11. It’s about honoring and remembering ALL those heroes who lost their lives and ALL those heroes who are fighting for our freedom…on a foreign land, not on our land.
How dare someone come on this forum- on a day of remembrance- and attempt to spread hate. You are no American, that is obvious!
Some good news: More than 5000 special 9-11 NEVER FORGET flags are displayed around the world by thousands of 9-11 families, military families, business owners, fire stations, police stations, government buildings, memorials, and homes.
Some will never forget!…<
Sep 11, 2008 - 10:36 am 28. Bugs:http://www.911flag.org
Get real. There is no more America. Just a bunch of angry monkeys in a too small a cage trying to kill each other. If the jihadis hit us again, it won’t be because they’re good. It will be because we were too busy dicking each other around to notice them. The current citizens of this country are not great. They are very, very small and petty. Sooner or later, we’re going to get exactly what we deserve.
Sep 11, 2008 - 10:55 am 29. The REAL Blue:Go on YouTube, watch the videos.
Find the pictures of falling people.
Remember, remember the anger and pain and rage you felt seven years ago.
THAT is the proper memorial for this day. It isn’t contextualizing or explaining. It is to recall the righteous and and thirst for justice that has faded over these seven years. To remember what it was like on at least one day in 365.
And then to go out and live the other 364 full of the knowledge that the pursuit of Justice for those who were murdered by the forces of evil has barely begun.
Sep 11, 2008 - 10:58 am 30. Sandra M:Cedarford:
Firstly, as to your subscribing to the Democrat belief that the Iraq War was a mistake, I disagree. I think it was the right war in the right place. We took down a monster who had modelled himself on Hitler and Stalin, and his two evil sons.
Iraq has oil, AND agriculture AND an educated secular populace which is good at business, a country which more and more serves as a model of what democracy and freedom can achieve versus the death wish of the Islamofascists and the corrupt stagnation of other Middle East countries. The Islamic choice becomes a good life on earth or the promise of the afterlife.
Afghanistan is a very primitive country that doesn’t like strangers within its borders, that has turned to poppy fields instead of its former crops. How could winning in Afghanistan be a model for anything other than dropping trillions into a 7th century culture? 60 Minutes just did a story with Kharzai about our killing civilians. Turns out it wasn’t so and we have the film to prove it. We should remove all the non-fighting UN “troops” and send in agronomists, teachers, and doctors. And small units of Special Forces such as those who kicked out the Taliban once before. AFTER our special forces had kicked out the Taliban I heard of one Pentagon Perfumed Prince of a general arriving with 100 aides. Not what is needed.
Violent Muslim uprisings have to be destroyed from time to time. Thomas Jefferson sent the Marines on their first mission to Tripoli and the Muslims “played nice” for a long time after that. General Pershing of WW I fame and his officers captured several Muslims. The soldiers dipped their bullets in pig blood, killed several of the thugs, buried them face down, facing away from Mecca and sprinkled them with pig blood and entrails. (guaranteeing that the’ll be barred from entering Paradise). Then, they released one of the Muslims to go back and tell the othrs what had happened. End of uprising.
Our mistake was in not going after Obama during the Clinton years. There was a day we had Obama in our sights but Clinton was busy watching a sports event and would not be interrupted. (source: Sandy Berger) There was another time we had him in our sights, offered on a silver platter by the Sudanese, I believe. Again, Hamlet 1 couldn’t decide what to do. And now the Democrats want to elect Hamlet 2? I don’t think so.
Sep 11, 2008 - 11:03 am 31. Jeff:The events of 9/11 has changed America’s lives forever. This moment is a reminder that our liberty is what sets us apart from most of the world, and it must be defended at all cost because it is being attacked.
9/11 will always be in our hearts for the 2,975 victims and their surviving families. We should not forget 9/11 and I feel that the next President should find closure for all the families by bringing Osama Bin Laden to justice.
Sep 11, 2008 - 11:04 am 32. Mary Madigan:This is our 7th anniversary of 9/11 and I, for one, feel that justice is a long time coming.
It is good to remember, but dreams of justice against the people responsible for 9/11 will always remain just dreams.
Al Qaeda was always a Saudi operation, staffed, sponsored, financed and run mostly by Saudis. (although other Gulf Arabs, and the worldwide Muslim Brotherhood chips in). When, after 9/11, the US government researched the groups who had financed al Qaeda, they investigated Saudi banks, religious organizations and charities. In a poll taken immediately after 9/11, 95% of educated Saudis stated that they supported Bin Laden’s goals.
95%
How many Saudis have been sent to jail or even arrested for their involvement in the attacks? How many Princes from the Emirates have been arrested?
If our government, republicans and democrats, has anything to say about it, none. The Republicans criticize the democrats for supporting terrorism as Bush kisses King Abdullah at Crawford. The Democrats criticize the Republicans for their friendships with the Saudis while ignoring the millions of dollars that Sauds have donated to Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and others.
Both sides worry about illegal immigrants while ignoring the fact that most of the hijackers entered the country legally, through our state department’s “visa express” program. The state department is currently welcoming tens of thousands of Saudi students to study here.
Most of the press calls the Saudis our allies in the war against terrorism.
The horror of 9/11 should have opened our eyes to the violence and to the military disasters that will result from allying with our enemies. But it didn’t. Mourning is about all we can do.
Sep 11, 2008 - 11:06 am 33. Rachel Peepers:Radical Islam takes delight in slaughtering unarmed, non-combatants in sneak attacks. Which doesn’t qualify them for U.S.citizen constitutional guarantees such as trial by a jury of their peers, habeas corpus, or a defense attorney.
In other words, it’s not a matter for the U.S. justice department.
It qualifies them for Israeli justice.
Standing at ground zero in Manhattan three years ago I was speechless. While it was the death site of brave Americans, it was also a place of evil incarnate.
On December 8, Warren Hull stood before some embarrassed Japanese diplomats. He told them to leave his office. There was nothing to say.
There was a war to be won.
In the same place as Warren Hull, what would Barack Obama have said? “Now, let’s all sit down, have some coffee and talk about this.”
I don’t know. And I don’t want to ever find out.
History tells us that Bill Clinton was told Americans had Bin Ladin in their sights and Clinton said, “don’t shoot.” Shooting would have prevented 9/11, and who knows what else?
John McCain tells us he’d follow Bin Laden to the gates of hell to kill him.
Then in his DNC speech, Obama made fun of what McCain said with some ambiguous comment like, “then why won’t John McCain go to where Bin Laden lives. I have no idea what Obama meant. Was Obama implying McCain is afraid of Obama?
I feel I would dishonor the American dead on 9/11 to vote for a man who in his church listens to foul, vile, lies about his country for twenty years. A man who values money and power much more than honor and country. A man with grudging respect for women, from his “sweetie” comment to not giving Hillary even the common courtesy of vetting her for VP to calling Sarah Palin a pig and then trying to squirm his way out of it.
Barack attends meetings with unrepentant terrorists, meetings with Farrakan and the Daily Kos convention. John McCain attends Pearl Harbor memorials, funeral services for his fellow POW’s and memorial services for 9/11 victims.
The November 4 choice wa face is between two men who are different as night and day. Don’t let a political pamphlet or a well delivered political speech be your guide.
Let your conscience.
Sep 11, 2008 - 11:11 am 34. The day will always live with me « The Emotional Cripple:[...] 10 Lileks: Archived, but prescient and worth re-reading Bush 7, Terrorists 0 video tributes PMJ: Remembering Not to Forget AlQ’s failed attack on our economy Built from the scraps: The USS New York Rightvoices: We will [...]
Sep 11, 2008 - 11:11 am 35. Old Grouch:“…a moment when we put everything aside to be one whole nation.”
One that lasted a bit more than one hour.
Sep 11, 2008 - 11:15 am 36. ZZMike:You and I may not forget, but there are many who have, and a few who still insist that the earth is flat and that 9/11 was a government conspiracy.
We have to remember so that we will not forget, and so our children will not forget. We will not forget 9/11. We will not forget Pearl Harbor.
We also have to tell our children what happened. This story is our story, our history, part of our culture.
We especially need to do that because they’re being taught an “alternate history” in more than a few schools.
But what we need to focus on is not who to blame (on either side), but how to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Seven years on, and I still cannot bring myself to watch the videos.
Sep 11, 2008 - 11:21 am 37. Sandra M:Cedarford:
As to your romance about the Soviet veterans from WW II who you thanked,
1) When Soviet prisoner of wars were returned to the Soviet Union, Stalin had them all killed or imprisoned for having been captured.
2) Those wonderful Soviet allies massacred the entire Polish officer corps in the Katyn Forest. The excellent little film ENIGMA, starring Kate Winslet, about the breaking of the Nazi codes, has this as a major plot point.
3) Those wonderful Soviet veterans raped and pillaged their way through Berlin. Some had never seen toilets before. Putin imported similar savages into Georgia with much raping and pillaging there also.
Robert Conquest is one of the very few historians to reveal the pure evil of the Soviet regime, which rivalled Hitler’s because it lasted so much longer — with the aid of the New York Times’ foreign correspondent, Walter Duranty, who seemed besotted with Stalin for decades and decades and suppressed his genocidal forced famine in the Ukraine as well as suppressing the show trials.
As to what Soviet communism does to the soul of people, the Italian fascists thought: “the communists are our enemy. Why not make an anti-communist movie?” They filmed Ayn Rand’s novel WE THE LIVING, starring Alida Valli (THE THIRD MAN) and Rossanno Brazzi, (SUMMERTIME). The public loved it. Puffed up with pride in finally doing something right, they sent a copy to their Nazi allies, who immediately grasped that the film was not only anti-communist, it was anti-fascist, i.e. anti-totalitarian. It was quickly removed from viewing. The video is still available.
Sep 11, 2008 - 11:26 am 38. Sandra M:More on how Clinton compounded our problems today:
Not only did we not decisively slap down our islamofascist enemies, Clinton urged the Yeltsin administration to “live and let live” unlike the de-nazification we did with Germany.
So, now we have the Islamofascists to totally defeat, mericilessly and totally — the only thing that will make them stop. We have Russia being run by the KGB. Imagine today’s Germany being run by the Gestapo.
Lastly, the Twin Towers were flimsier than say the Empire State Building and there are some who say that if planes had crashed into the Empire State Building or Chrysler Building, there wouldn’t have been such a total collapse. Whatever gets rebuilt on the site should not be “taller than ever” (a form of unnecessary boasting) but should be built to the standards of earlier, sturdier buildings because they may try again.
Sep 11, 2008 - 11:37 am 39. ZEITGEIST:[...] MICHELE CATALANO on memories of 9/11. [...]
Sep 11, 2008 - 11:43 am 40. yochanan:my wife’s boss’ mother said the smell reminded her of DACHOU. the smell of smoke and death.
if you ask obama about terrorism his responce is
‘FEAR MONGERING’
The current democrat party is a sept 10 party.
John McCain knows what evil is he saw if first hand in hanio
Sep 11, 2008 - 11:54 am 41. newguy40:Within my own life and family, I remember. I cannot find high outrage at what others find important or worth commemorating. It’s not worth the angst and energy.
Every Sept 11th I fly my National Flag along with a “Lest they Forget” as well as my Gadsden Flag. On other days such as the anniversary of Gettysburg or Fredricksburg, or Armistice day, I do the same thing. I pray and remember those soldiers and fellow citizens sacrifices. They deserve my respect and memory. I cannot explain it to those who don’t care to know.
Sep 11, 2008 - 11:58 am 42. TC@LeatherPenguin:Michele,
I’ve no worry that I’ll ever forget; too many funerals attended.
God bless, babe,
Sep 11, 2008 - 12:36 pm 43. Jeff:TC
This day is the biggest reminder that the Afghanistan War is the CORRECT war on terrorism. This day will always be the day that the families of all of the victims of 9/11 will never have closure as long as Osama Bin Laden is still roaming the world freely. You must see this day in their eyes and put yourselves in their shoes every time there is a new video of Osama Bin Laden on the news making further threats. You must feel what they feel in that circumstance.
I feel that this current Administration mislead the American public when we went into Iraq, with the pre-notion that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, is a major threat to us and the free world, and a hint of his tie to Osama Bin Laden. We found no such evidence in all the cases.
For people that think the Iraq War is right. At the point when we were first given all that info by this current Administration, it did seem right when we think about it introspectively, as a country to declare war on Iraq. Now that no evidence was found, it shows that we did not spend enough time on information gathering to solidify our claims, or what our Administration’s true agenda was. Being there now gives the world’s communities a negative outlook about us because no solid evidences are found. But we have no choice now but to follow it through and end it responsibly. I know that Saddam was a bad guy, from the evidence of his occupation of Kuwait that lead us to the first Gulf War, which I think was the right war on Saddam at that time. This Iraq War is wrong because it was a pre-emptive war without any solid evidence of our accusations, in the present.
The Iraq War also diverted our attention away from the Afghanistan War, which is where the true culprit, Osama Bin Laden, is. We now extended our resources in two separate places and have heightened our risk to our troops, our expenses, and creating another dilemma that while take quite some time to finalize. The Iraq War will not go away overnight. I have heard debates that say, “But the Iraq War was what brought all the jihads to the battlefield”. We cannot just classify the terrorists with the insurgency. The reason that we got more response in Iraq than Afghanistan is that other Arab nations that don’t see eye to eye with us, are outraged by this situation and they are aiding and abetting the insurgency that is also outraged with this situation. Not all the fighting is coming from just Al Qaida. But the fact remains, our true agenda is still at large and today is the biggest reminder of that.
Sep 11, 2008 - 1:29 pm 44. Cedarfordisanass:Cedarford’s an anti-semite, as anyone who’s read his comments at various blogs knows.
Shorter cedarford: “It’s the jooooooooos!”
Sep 11, 2008 - 1:50 pm 45. Terry Gain:Nothing has changed. A candidate with a nonexistent resume, who wanted to concede Iraq to Al Qaeda and Iran is running neck and neck with a true American hero.
And the elites, oblivious to the devastating consequences which would have befallen America and Iraq if the mission had failed, support the empty suit.
Sep 11, 2008 - 3:42 pm 46. Terry Gain:“The Iraq War also diverted our attention away from the Afghanistan War”
Nonsense. Pure political drivel The Iraq war diverted Al Qaeda’s attention from the Afghanistan war. It was Al Qaeda that couldn’t fight on two fronts, not America.
The Afghanistan war has not been won because the insurgents are holed up in Pakistan and the United States does not want to attack “an ally” which has nuclear weapons.
Sep 11, 2008 - 3:46 pm 47. Lisa Paul:I had to read this essay three times with an hour between readings as it brought up so many emotions. But Michelle, you really nailed it. What a beautiful, thoughtful and poignant essay highlighting EXACTLY how we should honor the victims by focussing on how we all pulled together in that time. Best 9/11 Anniversary essay I’ve read ANYWHERE.
Sep 11, 2008 - 5:25 pm 48. Steve:Jeff is right on his post (Sep 11, 2008 – 1:29 pm)
This day is a day that we should all realize that the bastard that did this is still in hiding and Afghanistan should had been the only frontline of the war on terrorism. Our “empty suit” as you all call him would take out Obama if any of you watched the interview on O’reilly. I haven’t heard McCain mentioned anything even close to that.
Sep 11, 2008 - 5:49 pm 49. In Remembrance | D.C. Thornton:[...] Links: 102 Minutes that Changed America Pentagon Memorial Dedication Remembering Not to Forget 9/11 Thank You President [...]
Sep 11, 2008 - 6:27 pm 50. god:How can a superpower and its allies cannot get one man and a small group of terrorists?
If OBL is alive, he doesn’t need to do more. What he did was just too big to top it (making a country to spend trillions of dollars in defense, with an investment of just 3-4 planes and two dozen people).
If he’s dead, our Intelligence (and allies’) needs a hell of a lot to be desired.
Remember how our government agencies did not talk to each other? (FBI, CIA, police, FEMA, etc.). If the government of different countries would exchange some of their Intelligence, maybe a miracle could happen to reduce terrorism.
Sep 11, 2008 - 10:20 pm 51. trangbang68:Linda P. Actually there are some who paid for their crimes on 9/11. For example: Abu Zabaidah, Mohammed Atef and others. Mugniah is dead. Zarqawi is dead. Others are dead. More to kill, but glad these are burning in hell.
Sep 11, 2008 - 10:24 pm 52. cedarford:Freudian slip there Stevie? “Our empty suit as you call him would take down Obama…. put the crackpipe down sport and slowly walk away from the computer.
Hey Cedarford, why doesn’t anybody like you?
Trangbang – Hey Cedarford, why doesn’t anybody like you?
Sep 11, 2008 – 10:24 pm
Because saying the truth is always more unpopular than mindlessly embracing Victimhood or raw jingoism.
The last 7 years have ripped America apart, driven us into near-fiscal insolvency, and cost us much of our clout and allies abroad. We have with a small band of Ismaic extremists, fixated on their small threat to our long-term security and prosperity and ignored greater threats coming from China, our Open Borders, and runaway entitlement costs. We sleepwalked into an energy crisis, and baited the Bear until it bit back and now we face the prospect of a hideously expensive Cold War and Russia openly contemplating encroaching on our “turf” in the Caribbean, Venezuela, Mexico as we did to their “turf”.
Both sides are at fault.
But now, while we may have played terrorist whack-a-mole and knocked off most of one generation of Islamist extremists, the remnants are rebuilding in safe sanctuaries, the ME faces a nuclear arms race as other nations now have the technology and money to seek strategic parity with Israel.
There is a reason that 75% of Americans detest that Maximum Beloved Protector of Us all, why he was almost as unwelcome as a contagious Ebola patient at the Republican Convention. It stems from his string of bad, poorly executed decisions after 9/11. Yes, “He Kept Us All Safe” from a few thousand fanatics, but only at the price of ignoring much bigger foreign and domestic problems because all he cared about was those few thousand dangerous nutballs…and his tax cuts for the wealthy..little else.
I am from the Conservative wing of the Republicans that believes in small government, fiscal responsibility, and minimizing our entangling alliances and military adventures abroad. Neocons, theocrats, and corrupt K-Street Republicans have nearly wrecked the Republican Party. Whether McCain or Obama is elected is anyones guess – but you can bank on more Republican bloodletting in Congress and in State elections. As Congressman Rick Davis (R-Virginia) said, after what Bush and Republicans in Congress did to the Republican brand – if it was dog food – it would be yanked off the shelves.
Sep 12, 2008 - 1:15 am 53. god:Bugs 9/11 10:55 am:
You’ve got it right.
Sep 12, 2008 - 2:50 am 54. trangbang68:That’s the negative side.
Now tell us the positive side.
And, yes, we’re going to get what we deserve.
Let’s hope for the best in the future.
Cedarford, You’re from a fossilized wing of the Republican party that has often been on the wrong side of history. It is the place where the ideologies come full circle and Buchananites unite with radical anti American liars like Justin Raimondo. It is a place where the Big Little tent includes White Supremists, neo-nazis, folks still fighting the Civil War and other splinter groups with no following. The Ron Paul campaign galvanized this group along with Truthers and other conspiracy theorists. Your disdain for “theocrats” is a repudiation of classic conservatism which understood the religious roots of true conservatism. “Neo- cons” contrary to being a veiled reference to Jews in your lexicon are really those who have fled the hard left understanding the perilous world we live in. The K Street lobbyists are non partisan greed merchants. They have far too much influence in both parties.
Sep 12, 2008 - 8:40 am 55. Bugs:People don’t dislike your thought because it’s truth spoken in a world of lies but because it is cynical, often anti- semitic fringe lunacy.
god:
Not sure I can see a positive side. We squandered whatever unity or sympathy we had for each other after 9/11. We can’t mark the anniversary or mourn our dead without the occasion turning into a hate-fest. We’ve reverted to some kind of default primate behavior, like troop of chimpanzees frightened by a lion. One major difference: Though chimps react to danger by climbing trees, scampering around, thrashing in the vegetation, chattering, hooting, screaming, and baring their fangs – sort of like we Americans are doing now – as far as I know, they don’t usually attack each other every time a leopard shows up. If self-hate and self-destruction are part of some advanced survival strategy practiced only by homo sapiens americanis, I wish somebody would explain to me how it’s better than sticking together and protecting ourselves.
Sep 12, 2008 - 9:39 am 56. god:Bugs 9:39 am:
I agree again, but I think that when the good old USA is seriously threatened, the country does unite. The ideological battle between reds and blues gets nasty because the reds don’t get it and are sorrily paranoid.
The problem is that our educational systems does not teach people how to think clearly and avoid the untruths. Religion clouds the mind too. We are not as advanced as we think, the World knows it. We’re just lucky.
Sep 12, 2008 - 11:49 am 57. Sandy Salt:The comments to this article have gone way off target. The point was why have we let the memories fade. I for one will not forget that day for a number of reasons. It took me away from my family time and time again, but I knew it was necessary because for evil to prevail it only requires good men to do nothing. So, I say to those of you with such negative attitudes “what have you done to stop this evil?” I have proudly served this country both at home and in Iraq. I fight for what is right and good. I can not and will not believe sitting on the sidelines and letting the world dictate our actions is ever the right answer. You can take your world opinion and stick it up your @$$, because a lot of those people you are worried about cheered that day and paraded in the streets. Sure there were those who called and wished us well, but they didn’t suffer or have to bury the dead.
You can say what you want about the money spent fighting the wars, but how much is a life worth because that money bought safety for you, the civilians here at home, for the last 7 years. Those who gave it all on the battlefield did so because they were warriors and knew the cost, but those in the towers were innocent and had no choice. So spout all the crap you want about whether Iraq was right or not, but I know for a fact that no one sitting in their office doing their job has been killed in 7 years.
Sep 12, 2008 - 12:09 pm 58. Bugs:god:
I hope you mean the Blues don’t get it either. They can’t tell traditional patriots from Nazis or a few relatively minor security measures from the descent of fascism. You need to listen to the rhetoric. Make no mistake – I have nothing positive to say about either side in this debate. They’re ALL to blame for where we are today. They should ALL be ashamed, embarrassed, contrite, for themselves and for our country.
Sep 12, 2008 - 2:54 pm 59. Bugs:Sandy: I don’t think the civilians here at home deserve what you’ve done for them. While you were over there trying to protect them, they’ve been over here having a little pissing contest, lying their asses off every time they speak or write, calling each other commies and fascists, accusing each other of treason, comparing your commander in chief to Hitler, claiming he caused 9/11, ruining each other’s careers, staging riots, generally hating each other and seeming to enjoy it. Your choice to defend these pathetic monkeys from worse enemies than they can imagine is extremely noble. Unfortunately, you’d experience more loyalty and gratitude if you just stayed home and adopted stray cats and dogs. At least half of these assholes hope you lose over there, and a good number of them wouldn’t be too upset if you died. I’m glad you’re defending the Constitution – it’s the only thing left that’s noble and true in our political system. But I’m damned if I can see any particular reason to defend the citizens of the United States. They do not deserve your sacrifice.
Sep 12, 2008 - 3:15 pm 60. god:Bugs 2:54
Amen
Sep 12, 2008 - 4:11 pm 61. Dark Helmet:Hey Bugs.
There are more good Americans.
Go F*ck yourself.
Sep 12, 2008 - 8:01 pm 62. Kathryn:Another year has gone by.. and still you can smell and taste the bitterness of the ash.
Sep 3, 2009 - 7:32 am 63. Pajamas Media » We Say ‘Never Forget’ — But Do We Really Mean It?:[...] no one has forgotten the events of 9/11, we may just have forgotten those it affected most. I wrote last year about the big sign in the local mall that says “Never Forget.” I know what they meant by that. [...]
Sep 10, 2009 - 11:39 pm