5 years later: My thoughts on 9/11

Lindsey and I watched the story of the engine 7 firehouse from NYC during 9/11 on CBS last night. It contained amateur video of that day’s terrible events. Amazingly, every fireman survived despite almost all of them being on upper floors of the North Tower (which collapsed second). This documentary stirred up a lot of feelings: Feelings of loss, feelings of hurt, feelings of how cowardly terrorists are, feelings of frustration that nothing has been rebuilt, feelings of disappointment by how the Bush Administration has handled most everything, and feelings of what I’d like done. They are:

End the War in Iraq (not the war on terror). The US should admit to the war’s false creation and current existence as being a mistake, but continue military counter-terrorism efforts in Iraqi as necessary. Also, make the war on terror a legitimate world war against terrorist groups, not entire countries.
Increase world counter-terrorism. Increase military counter-terrorism efforts throughout the world. This would entail relocating troops in Iraqi, but ideally, I’d hope to see less troops on active duty if possible.
Overcome intimidation. Wikipedia states: “Acts of terrorism are not intended to merely victimize or eliminate those who are killed, injured or taken hostage but rather to intimidate and influence the societies to which they belong.” I will continue to live my life and not be intimidated by cowardly terrorists who will certainly launch future attacks. I’m more concerned with mitigating their frequency and intensity rather than their existence.
Stop compromising American privacy. I’m with Ben Franklin on this one: “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

DISCLOSURE: I am a conservative, but not a supporter of the Bush administration. I also tend to stay out of politics, mainly because I don’t care much for them, so I am in no way an expert on the topic. Discount my thoughts as you see fit. Note: My opinion is subject to change.

“New York still remains the greatest city in the world. That must really bug America-haters everywhere.” – Gaping Void

9 Comments

cdubthebabyshooter

Sep 11, 2006 at 8:47 pm

One of the first time I’ve heard you talk politics for sure.

RKM

Sep 12, 2006 at 4:05 pm

Blake,

Criticizing President Bush is en vogue right now, as is (as always) a hippie, kumbaya outlook on war that doesn’t make any allowances for using force. Whether we were intentionally misled or it was an honest mistake, the result is that an entire country now lives in a democracy where before there was torture and silence. There are conspiracy theories, but there’s no evidence that George W. is anything but what he claims to be — a man who loves his family, his country, and his God. By contrast, President Clinton admitted to adultery and then to lying about it in a U.S. court. If character is any indication of the man behind the administration, I’ll bet on President Bush over President Clinton 100 out of 100 times.

If you really don’t care about politics, you can ignore this. I, as well, will be happy to change my opinions if new evidence surfaces, but I’m not going to jump on the anti-war, anti-Bush bandwagon.

Richard

Nicholas Roussos

Sep 12, 2006 at 10:26 pm

“the result is that an entire country now lives in a democracy where before there was torture and silence.”

The amount of irony in that statement is too much for me. Have you paid any attention to what is happening in Iraq?

Lindsey

Sep 13, 2006 at 12:05 am

1. I am sick of people comparing Bush to Clinton. To me it’s apples and oranges. Completely different situations.

2. I think it’s just as popular for Bush supporters to say, “but he’s a good man” as it is for anti-Bush people to say they don’t like him.

Having said that, I am still Republican. Although, there have been times when I have voted for local leaders who were democrat because I liked them better.

Blake Snow

Sep 13, 2006 at 1:06 am

Richard,

Do you think criticism is a bad thing? You sounded heated in your comment, so I hope I didn’t come across as threatening or heated in my post.

Is it wrong to believe in something even though it may be “en vogue?” Your “Bush is a good man” belief is one of the most tired and cliche justifications of his actions; that doesn’t mean you can’t believe it.

I think your bringing up Clinton and the “democratization of other nations” is a little off topic, however indirect. The purpose of my post was to comment on 9/11 and what I felt could be done better in light of terrorism.

RE: “If you really don’t care about politics, you can ignore this. I, as well, will be happy to change my opinions if new evidence surfaces, but I’m not going to jump on the anti-war, anti-Bush bandwagon.”

I do care about politics, albeit passively, but you rightfully called me out on that one. As I’ve implied above, you have presented no new evidence or angles on the current situation. On the contrary, I haven’t met anyone that shared a hybrid approach as the one I posted above (though I doubt it’s an original thought). I don’t think criticisms of a controversial president are a bad thing, and I do support war when the cause is just. Even you admitted the intended cause of this current “war on Iraq” isn’t what it started as, so although some indirect good has stemmed from it, does that warrant a lack of ownership for its misguided inception?

RKM

Sep 13, 2006 at 9:57 am

Nicholas: The current violence in Iraq is from rebels and insurgents — part of the growing pains of a new country. They don’t sell newspapers by talking about the thousands of people who are free and not fighting.

Lindsey: The reason to compare Bush and Clinton is that it’s a sign of our hypocrisy as a people. We get heated up over conspiracy theories and what the media spoon feed us, but we ignore weightier matters like character and morality that are blatantly absent in public leaders. Why did we forgive Clinton but not Bush? The answer to that question reflects poorly on us as a nation.

Blake: I don’t think criticism is bad, and I hope I didn’t sound overly critical of your thoughts. Because you admitted only a passing interest in politics, I inferred that you were simply regurgitating what others have said (specifically, on point #1.) I agree with you on points 2-4. The blog post as a whole, as you said, is a balanced hybrid argument.

“Bush is a good man” isn’t justification for going to war; in fact, I’d expect a good man to avoid war as much as possible. But since the reasons for going to war are up for debate, I’m more likely to give Bush the benefit of the doubt because of his character (or what I can see of it) than someone like Clinton who is proven to be a lier and adulterer.

I believe it would helpful if everyone advocating the end of the war gave more details. How do you correct a mistake like this? How do you get out now? Do you just pull out all the soldiers immediately, even if that means the country implodes? I suppose it would calm people down if Bush were to admit the misguided inception of the war, but that would be heartening to the insurgents and disheartening to our soldiers. Maybe Bush’s willingness to take the heat for this (instead of admitting a mistake and letting people forgive him if they would) is a way to end the war more quickly since it shows the U.S soldiers a steady resolve and doesn’t give cause to the insurgents.

Blake Snow

Sep 13, 2006 at 12:38 pm

“How do you correct a mistake like this? How do you get out now? Do you just pull out all the soldiers immediately, even if that means the country implodes? I suppose it would calm people down if Bush were to admit the misguided inception of the war, but that would be heartening to the insurgents and disheartening to our soldiers.”

What do you do when you make, as you called it, a mistake? You own up to it, even if you are the president of the US (no one is off the hook). I realize I’m an idealist, but I think taking responsibility for the mistake and changing strategies as suggested above is a start. Do you really care if an apology is heartening to terrorists? If you want to curtail their power, pay no attention to their feelings (respect = power, see point 3 above).

Re: an apology as being “disheartening to our soldiers:” Do you really feel they don’t know what’s going on?

RKM

Sep 13, 2006 at 3:48 pm

There aren’t any easy solutions to the war at this point, but, yeah, owning up to a mistake would be a start.

Nicholas Roussos

Sep 26, 2006 at 11:35 pm

“The current violence in Iraq is from rebels and insurgents — part of the growing pains of a new country. They don’t sell newspapers by talking about the thousands of people who are free and not fighting.”

It’s a little more complicated than “growing pains of a new country.” Sectarian violence (Iraqi’s fighting themselves), out of control crime (kidnappings for politcal and criminal motives), and worse. Sure parts fo the country aren’t seeing fighting, but parts of the country are vast unihabited desert too.

“There aren’t any easy solutions to the war at this point” There aren’t any easy solutions to any war at any point. That’s the whole point. Staying the course isn’t a strategy it’s rhetoric. It’s like the boxer who goes on the offensive only to get countered. He can keep going but it only gets worse if he doesn’t learn to put his hands up and take a step back.

Blake Snow

writer-for-hire, content guy, bestselling author

5 years later: My thoughts on 9/11

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