Welcome to Sad Salvation. Day by day by day by day ... this is my attempt to make sense of the world.

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Thursday, September 11, 2008

Thoughts on 9/11 part 2

I am not sure how to feel about the World Trade Center site not being rebuilt. I think it is very telling about America. America is about competing interests. It is about everyone wanting to go a different direction. We are a country where everyone wants their own way and we are willing to sue to get it.

Seven years ago if you told me the World Trade Center site would not be rebuilt by today, I would have not believed you. I would have thought we would go double time to rebuild it to show the terrorist that they would not beat us. I guess that is the difference between how the world works and how you expect it to work

Labels: 9/11, America, World Trade Center

- Rich, 12:41 PM |

9/11/01 to 9/11/08

Today is the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America. I feel very far away from it. Seven year is a long time. In fact I have lived more than 20% of my life since the 9/11 attacks. A lot in my life has changed since that. I really feel that those years are the prime of my life.

It also feel far way because I live on the West Coast. I think that 9/11 feels different on the West Coast than it does on the East Coast. So times I think that the people here see it as something that happened while in New York and Washington is feels like something that is still happening. I see lots of people out here roll their eyes when politicians wrap themselves in 9/11.

In some ways it is still happening. We have not got to the end of the fall out from 9/11. We have two wars going on, the TSA, RealID, the patriot act, changes in immigration policy, the price of gas, the presidential election, all of these things are happening now and are changed because of 9/11.

The attacks on 9/11 where the first global event of the 21st century. It is the event that informs much of the world today. I look forward to a day where 9/11 is something in the history books. All things get there eventually. I just wonder how long this will take.

Labels: 9/11, America, anniversary, RealID, TSA, war, war on terror

- Rich, 11:31 AM |

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Flags

Flags
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

It has been six years since 9/11/01. It might be the biggest thing that has happened yet this decade. I have lived in San Jose eight years tomorrow. Six of those eight years have been since 9/11. That event set the stage for my life here.

One of the things I remember about that day was how quite the streets of San Jose were. I walked around the streets after dark and there was no one around. I remember how the whole city felt empty. That is one of the feels that stuck with me.

My life in California has been mostly post 9/11. For most of 2001 I wanted to move back to Philadelphia. It was not until after 9/11 that I really came into my own in California. I know that day change my life. I know that approached my life in a different way after 9/11. I tried harder to be more engaged in what was happening around me.

I am not sure how big of an impact 9/11 really had on the world. Would George W. Bush found another way to invade Iraq without 9/11, maybe. Would have something else happened if 9/11 did not, maybe. Is 9/11 really that important in the history of the world, it is hard to say now, give it time. I can say that my life is different because of 9/11. That is what I will remember.

Labels: 091101, 9/11, San Jose, self

- Rich, 11:13 PM |

Monday, September 11, 2006

9/11/01 to 9/11/06

It is the 5th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. It feels like we are still in that moment in time. September 11th was the start of something and we are still in that event. It does not feel like I am really looking back at those events. There is so much going on that is still connected with these attacks. I feel like I cannot really look back, because there are so many things that are not over.

I cannot remember the last week that I have not heard about 9/11. I think it has to get to this state before it becomes the past. It is hard to get to a place where you are not thinking about it all the time but it is not forgotten either. I am worried that is going to take us a long time, longer than is healthy.

I am not sure when these things will feel like the past and not the present. I am not sure if it is the Iraq War, Middle East Conflict, al-qaeda, or the general feeling of conflict between Islam and the West that keeps this feeling going. Maybe the feeling will change once we have a new President.

For now I am looking back, but it does not feel like the past. I will let everyone know when it feels like the past to me.

Labels: 091101, 9/11, anniversary, attack, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, tag overload

- Rich, 9:03 PM |

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