Never Forget

last week, for the 11th year in a row, i was bombarded by the incessant plea to "never forget" september 11th, 2001.

i don't get it. only a moron could ever forget about it and who cares what they remember? but what's the point of remembering an event that most people don't understand, anyway? most americans don't have the slightest clue why the attacks happened. it's like asking 3-year-olds to Never Forget particle physics.

beyond that, why september 11th? you'd think it would be because people want to remember the innocent civilians that were killed that day in order to honor them. i don't think that's true, though. if that were true, you'd see those same people making a much bigger fuss about march 30th, 2003, when the united states military invaded a seemingly random country - iraq. that invasion resulted in the deaths of at least 100,000 innocent civilians. that's a heck of a lot bigger tragedy than the 3000 lost on september 11th.

in my opinion, the focus on 9.11 is much more a response to the conditioning of americans by the news media to a pro-government emotional nationalism. that's why you often see pictures of the world trade center wrapped in the u.s. government's flag, accompanied by the baffling praise of "the heroes" fighting for "our freedom" in various foreign countries.

there is such a warped absurdity about it. i don't need to explain that the military doesn't fight for anyone's freedom. as you saw in the link above, the attacks were caused by decades of brutally violent military and covert interventions in the middle east. so, to praise the acceleration of the policies that caused the attacks in the first place is akin to saying, "Never Forget" to hope and pray that more of these attacks happen. it's sick.

the fact is that the attacks of september 11th had nothing to do with you, unless you were involved in planning or executing them, or you were a casualty in them, or you lost loved ones or even knew people killed. that eliminates 99+% of all people, everywhere. so, for all of those others who are intent on remembering that date, but no other one, mind your own business. what's that? it "affects us all" because we're all american? you know what "american" means, don't you? it means that, over the years, politicians have drawn lines on a map, imaginary lines they call "borders" and have decreed that all people who happen to live inside those borders are subject to their whim. "american" is the label placed upon those who are subject to the brutal depredations of the u.s. government (the same one whose brutalities precipitated the 9.11 attacks) - and nothing more. americans are not more important than iraqis or afghanis, or any other people. we're all just people.

if you're one of those Never Forgetters, you're really just a heartless nationalist who takes advantage of great tragedy in order to worship your governmental masters.

seriously, seek help for your mental disorder.


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