Posted on 12/22/2001 12:19:33 AM PST by Mercuria
Many things ended on September 11th, the least of which was the illusion of safety in our so-called "free country." The peace and prosperity that parents had provided for their children was nothing more than a fairy tale in the inferno of the vicious attacks. And if you pay attention you'll notice that as the days go by and the memories start to fade, or at least are better managed by those that manipulate images and information, the next step is not in the collective playbook.
In the wake of an unprecedented act of war the hard news concentrated on who, what, where, when and how but the soft outlets immediately pedaled the image of the soon-to-be foe. Oprah and her ilk paraded Islamic women and proclaimed them the true victims of the Taliban, thus relegating the thousands who died in the attacks to also-ran victims in an ongoing passion play that included pathetic attempts of one-upmanship by the media starved for ratings - all the while trying to steer the countries viewing habits back to the soft and comfortable world that existed before the attacks.
Meanwhile, moms and dads tried to bring some perspective to the concept of security in the face of uncertainty to children who will forever remember the day when the truth was thrust upon them in violent and visceral images that will forever belie the lies their parents told them about the world and the people who would do them wrong. Every child remembers the day when they first learned that the world was a dangerous place. For me it was the day that I learned that my parents would die. After that, most disappointment was second rate. And I suspect it was the same for most of the country's children on that fateful day.
America was faced with a much more insidious foe after the attacks - the truth that freedom and security is nothing more than a heartbeat from death. For the children who witnessed it they learned a lesson that for most of us takes years to learn. They will grow up with a sense of themselves that most of us don't have. Their lives may in the long run become fuller because they realize the futility of pretending that the greatest country in the world is that because we say it is. They may be the generation who makes it so...without the rhetoric and the aggrandizement that plagues our society in PC feel-good placating that pretends that Islam is a religion of peace and that the people of the world can come together in some pathetic Coke commercial spirituality that transcends the truth that there are bad people who want to do others harm for no other reason than they are bad.
This will be the same generation that will grow up watching as their brothers and sisters are sent off to countries they can't pronounce to secure their freedom in far away places endlessly circling the globe chasing ghosts. Boys and girls who feel a duty to protect a concept they have been prevented from learning. They are spoon fed American history in such a way as to proclaim blame for failure on faded oil paintings of a select few who gave all to create this nation, all the while fostering the notion that anyone who signed the Declaration of Independence was a slave owner and as such everything they did was bad.
The same children who never utter the Pledge of Allegiance but can recite sections of the UN agenda verbatim. The same children who are pushed through cookie cutter factories of "learning" to be kicked out into a hostile world where they may have to know something, as if they are expected to be able to retain anything about the founding of this country and more importantly the origins of their freedom. Not that they would know what freedom is from their experience.
This current generation will grow up using their Social Security numbers for everything. They will be quite content with the notion of truth as a representation of some well-coiffed talking head parroting the current slew of lies. They will have a notion of freedom in the simple act of personal impulse and the sacrifice they will make will be in the milliseconds they wait for a picture to download.
We sacrificed so they would have a better world. They are living in it. It's not perfect. The notion of fighting for principle through conviction is not a contemporary creed. It's a dusty old construct that is wheeled out by aged relatives who want to tell the young'uns how bad it was in the old days when we had to get up to change the channel.
Take a step back and check for the huge gaps in the intentions of parents and the result.
We expected our children to adopt our ideals but we never taught them ideals. Those vacation homes and bitchen SUVs take time to pay for. We expected our children to learn in government schools so we let the nanny state raise them. Is it any surprise that the same children have no compunction in fidelity to the state when the state raised them? We expected our children to assume civic responsibility as if from osmosis when we never took the time or energy to talk to them about it, much less practice it ourselves.
Moms and dads, take a hard look in the mirror.
The futility in saying one thing and doing another is a national sport. We bought the lies The Hungry Thing sold us so that for the pound of flesh we would be safe. We sold our kids the idea while selling them to the state. The words to describe this sanguine dystopia of collective denial are a laughable exercise in perpetual cognitive dissonance. Just like your old man did but with far worse results.
So the Brave Nerf World is slowly falling apart. You can't ask our children to fight and die for a concept they aren't sure exists because they never learned it. I say let the scales fall where they may. I suspect the images of 9-11 made more patriots than most can imagine. Until HHS pumps out "soma" at the rate they steal Cipro from Bayer, we will see the padded merry-go-rounds in the playground that is the US exposing their cold steel shells. More bloody noses for the small and innocent.
Mercurial Times exclusive commentary. Reprints must credit the author and Mercurial Times.
Stellar job, my friend.
TWO Double-Doubles for you when you visit So Cal!!
I'll take you up on the Double-double. Funny how food is such a congenial construct.
Hanna-Barbara where is they sting?
"A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth; and a word in its season, how good is it!" Prov 15:23
Good thing that, too...you're obviously not doing it for the money. **G**
Thank you so much for stepping out on this one.
As if my Christmas list wasnt' long now...
Only if I can do whatever that might require while I am sitting down !!! ;-))
What the heck...why waste a perfectly good case of insomnia? ;-)
Merry Christmas, Mr. F.
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