THE MORNING AFTER

9/11 Examined From A Slightly Different Angle
09/12/06

There's got to be a morning after
If we can hold on thru the night

I am sure by now that my regular readers may have noticed that I remained unusually quite on September 11th. It was intentional and for a reason that will soon become apparent. First and foremost it must be clearly understood that what I am getting ready to share with you here and now will offend some, will amuse some, will leave some scratching their heads and will leave others with food for thought.

I offer no apologies to those that will be offended. I am not sharing my perceptions to amuse you and if you are indeed amused by this post then you are a sick individual. I do apologize to those that will be left scratching their heads for I feel sorry for them that they are so uninformed and their view of the world is so limited. This Blog was wrote to provoke thought and raise questions that we just might find some answers too. So to those who feast upon a mental challenge I dedicate this writing.

We have a chance to find the sunshine
Let's keep on looking for the light.

I remained silent on September 11th because their was absolutely nothing that I could add to the countless memorials that circulated through email, websites, private messages and blog comments. Anything that I could have added would have been redundant rubbish and has already been said a million times before. So I kept my peace and let the work of posting memorials in the hands of those who wished to pour their creative talents into memorial presentations for the victims of September 11th. Meanwhile I remembered those who died on that fateful day five years ago privately as I offered up a prayer for their eternal peace.

Now as I sit at this keyboard watching the sunrise on the morning after September 11th I can share with you not a melancholy reminder of a tragedy that we will never be able to change but an insight as to why the remembrance of this tragedy is different than any other tragedy we as Americans have ever faced. Maybe by the end of this writing I will have shed some light on a few questions and facts that have yet to be asked or observed.

Oh can't you see the morning after?
It's waiting right outside the storm

As Americans we have been faced all through our history with tragedy upon tragedy that mark our determination and acted as a rallying point for our citizens.

MARCH 5th, 1770 - Threatened with clubs and taunted by jeers, the British redcoats fired into a heckling mob at Boston's "Bloody Massacre." When the smoke and confusion cleared, five Bostonians were dead or dying. John Adams, a lawyer (and future President), helped win acquittal for six of the soldiers, but his cousin, Sam Adams, a patriot leader, called the incident a "plot to massacre the inhabitants of Boston" and used it to rouse fellow colonists to rebel. It was just a short five years later that on April 19th, 1775 "The shot heard around the World was fired" signaling the start of the American Revolution.

MARCH 6th, 1836 - San Antonio and the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution. On February 23, 1836, the arrival of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's army outside San Antonio nearly caught the Texan and Tejanos volunteers within the Alamo by surprise. Undaunted, the Texans and Tejanos prepared to defend the Alamo together. The defenders held out for 13 days against Santa Anna's army. As the defenders saw it, the Alamo was the key to the defense of Texas, and they were ready to give their lives rather than surrender their position to General Santa Anna. The final assault came before daybreak on the morning of March 6, 1836, as columns of Mexican soldiers emerged from the predawn darkness and headed for the Alamo's walls. Cannon and small arms fire from inside the Alamo beat back several attacks. Regrouping, the Mexicans scaled the walls and rushed into the compound. All 189 men within the Alamo were massacred. The only survivors were a few women and children . The rallying cry of "Remember The Alamo" rang throughout the land.

JUNE 25th, 1876 - This infamous battle, also known as "Custer's Last Stand," centers around an effort to subdue Native Americans living in the Dakota and Montana territories who were fighting for their very existence. Discovery of gold in the nearby Black Hills in 1874, caused a rush of white prospectors into Indian territory and led to assaults on the prospectors by the Lakota Sioux, led by Chief Sitting Bull, Chief Crazy Horse, and Chief Gall. In the spring of 1876, the U.S. Army launched an expedition against the Lakota and their allies the Cheyenne. The tribes had not complied with an order to return to reservations in the Dakotas and Nebraska after U.S. negotiations to acquire the Black Hills, held to be sacred by the Indians, had failed in the fall of 1875. The central figure in the battle was George A. Custer, a former Civil War army officer who had already won notoriety as an Indian fighter in the West. On June 25, 1876, Custer and about 225 soldiers under his immediate command were defeated by Indians in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Not one of Custer's men survived the battle. This battle marked the beginning of the end of the Indian wars.

FEBRUARY 15th, 1898 - USS Maine, the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the state of Maine, was a 6682 ton, second class pre-dreadnought battleship originally designated as Armored Cruiser #1. Her active career was spent operating along the U.S. East coast and in the Caribbean area. In January 1898, the Maine was sent from Key West, Florida to Havana, Cuba, to protect U.S. interests during a time of local insurrection and civil disturbances. Three weeks later, at 9:40 on the evening of February 15, a terrible explosion on board the Maine shattered the stillness in Havana Harbor. Two hundred and sixty-six men lost their lives as a result of the explosion or shortly thereafter, and eight more died later from injuries. The explosion was a precipitating cause of the Spanish-American War that began in April 1898 and which used the rallying cry, "Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain."

DECEMBER 7th, 1941 - The Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor was one of the greatest tragic moments in American history. A single carefully-planned and well-executed stroke removed the United States Navy's battleship force as a possible threat to the Japanese Empire's southward expansion. Within a short time five of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor were sunk or sinking, with the rest damaged. Several other ships and most Hawaii-based combat planes were also knocked out and over 2400 Americans were dead. America, unprepared and now considerably weakened, was abruptly brought into the Second World War as a full participant. American's decried the "Great Sneak Attack" and FDR declared it as a day which would, "Live in Infamy."

SEPTEMBER 11th, 2001 - Two Hijacked jetliners hit the World Trade Center in New York, NY and one plane hits the Pentagon in Washington, DC. A fourth hijacked plane crashes into a field in Pennsylvania. Trading on Wall Street is stopped and the Federal Aviation Administration halts all flight operations at the nation's airports for the first time in U.S. history. The United States Military is placed on high alert. President Bush addresses the nation and vows to "find those responsible and bring them to justice." Hundreds of New York City firemen and policemen sent to rescue WTC workers are killed when the WTC Twin Towers collapse. Reaction from international leaders is swift as world leaders react with outrage over the attacks. On this date 2,973 Americans lost their lives.
Have you started to notice a pattern in these uniquely American tragedies? Can you see how each one ties in with the other with one exception? Let's take a closer look at how most of these tragedies were turned into triumph.

Why don't we cross the bridge together
And find the place that's safe and warm.

The rallying cry for Americans in the Revolution was "Let Freedom Ring." Battle standards carried such slogans as "Don't Tread On Me" and "Liberty Or Death." Hero's were abundant and Americans embraced them. They included but were not limited to Patrick Henry, George Washington, Paul Revere and other brave Patriots. Americans knew who the enemy was. Some Americans had been born in the country of their enemy. Some of them were recent transplants from that country. And most Americans had one thing in common with the enemy, their roots were of the same country. The enemy had occupied America for years so Americans were intimately familiar with their enemy. The enemy was of course the British and the invading country was Great Britain. No one argues that Valley Forge was the decisive battle of the Revolutionary war.

The Alamo and the War for Texas Independence is so full of hero's and legendary figures that it just boggles the mind. Crockett, Houston, Bowie, Bonham, Travis, and more stand even today 170 years later, as giants admired and revered. The cry of "Remember The Alamo" still evokes visions of Americans fighting for the right against innumerable forces. The Alamo still stands as a memorial to those who died defending what they believed in and inspires all those who walk through her doors. The defenders of the Alamo knew those who they fought against. Many of the Mexican solders were neighbors and even relatives as some Texans had taken Mexican wives. Santa Anna, though small of stature, was still an imposing figure and strong leader and the Texans had no doubt as to who the enemy was. If not for the Alamo Texans may have never had the inspiration to defeat Santa Anna and his armies.

The Battle of Little Big Horn marked the first time in American history that one tragedy begat another and caused the American people to rethink how they faced an enemy and how they treated that enemy. George A. Custer is no hero where the Indian wars are concerned. His lust for power and wealth brought about the massacre of his men. Therefore it is not of Custer that we talk of here but the brave men that died beside him on that hill that day. American solders who did what a solder is duty bound to do, follow the command of their officers. Though over run by a far superior force of Native Americans they stood their ground to the last man. As the story of "Custer's Last Stand" spread out to the American people it strengthened them and made them more determined than ever to tame this land. But an incident happened that shocked most Americans and forced the government to re-evaluate how the westward expansion would proceed. On December 29, 1890, five hundred troops of the U.S. 7th Cavalry, supported by four Hotchkiss guns (a lightweight artillery piece capable of rapid fire), surrounded an encampment of Minneconjou Lakota with orders to escort them back to the railroad for transport to Omaha, Nebraska. Shooting broke out and by the time it was over, twenty-five troopers and one hundred and fifty-three Sioux lay dead, including sixty-two women and small children. Though it took time eventually most Americans realized that they must embrace their enemy as Americans because they were Americans. Today we look back on these events and wonder how such tragedies could have occurred but the hero's that these times generated still inspire and amaze, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Captain Benteen, Major Reno and more.

The Sinking of the Maine and the Spanish-American War was the first time in American history that saw Americans fighting an enemy not on our continent but on foreign soil. Though lasting only 5 months the Spanish-American war instilled a strong sense of Patriotism in Americans and it created one of our greatest American Hero's, Theodore Roosevelt. Because of our efforts Cuba won it's Independence in 1902 from a foreign power and Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States. The Philippine's and Guam were also affected by the outcome of the Spanish-American war. For the first time in our history our response to a tragedy had a global impact. Once again we were faced with an enemy that we knew. The Spanish were the earliest settlers of our country and at one time they had laid claim to almost 1/3 of it. They had been our trade partners for years so when we faced them in battle we were not facing an unknown foe but one that we were intimately acquainted with, "Remember The Maine, to hell with Spain" became more of a taunt thrown at a bully then a battle cry.

Do I need to talk of the hero's that WWII created. Is it really necessary for me to remind you of all the battle cries that rang out across our land? Who among you that are now reading this, are not aware of the Patriotism which was invoked by all Americans during this period in our history. Pearl Harbor was indeed a "Day That Will Live In Infamy" but it was so much more than that. It was the day that a people that we had openly welcomed into our country betrayed us. The Japanese were not conqueror's nor explorers of the North American continent. As a matter of fact America had only been trading with the land of Japan since 1854 when Commodore Matthew Perry first opened negotiations with the country. Less than a hundred years later a country who had once been our ally and some of whose people now resided on our soil as Americans had viciously and sneakily attacked us. We knew our enemy once again and we were outraged! The USS Arizona still sits at the bottom of Pearl Harbor as a memorial to that outrage and those who needlessly died. Whether you are talking about Japan, Germany or Italy we knew our enemies and we were acquainted with them because their people had lived and worked beside us.

Which now brings us to September 11th, 2001 and how it differs from the previously listed tragedies that Americans have dealt with since our founding.

It's not too late, we should be giving
Only with love can we climb

Without a doubt September 11th, 2001 is the greatest American tragedy to date but not just for the lives that have been lost on and since that fateful day but because we, as Americans have been left with an invisible enemy that we know little or truly nothing about. We have been asked to rally around the flag without no defined battle cry and no single hero. As a collective we have the FDNY and the NYPD as hero's. We have the members of Flight 93 as hero's. And of course we have our brave service men and women as hero's. But where is the one great American hero that we can look to? Where is the one enemy that we know and recognize? Where is the Battle cry?

Each American tragedy had clearly defined hero's, enemies and a slogan for Americans to attach themselves too and rally around but September 11th has no such clearly defined guidelines for Patriotism. Despite President Bush's administrations efforts to create a memorable slogan from, "Lead The World To Victory" to "Crusade To Rid The World Of Evil-Doers" and "Mission Accomplished" no one battle cry has yet to be embraced by the American people. "Never Forget" is not a battle cry it is an epitaph that we have pulled from the closet once a year. We dust it off and wear it for one day to proudly remember and mourn those who died on September 11th. Then we put it back into the closet until the next year.

Can any of us truly name just one American hero during this time of strife that we can build a statue to in our city parks? Where are the George Washington's, Davy Crockett's, William Benteen's , Teddy Roosevelt's, Dwight Eisenhower's? If they exist within this time they have yet to step forward. And who is our enemy? Al Qaeda, The Taliban, Hezbollah or others? These are organizations, not nations or races of people. They are not people who have lived and worked with us and been Americans. At the end of the day they will not be our allies nor our neighbors. There will be no peace with them. They will continue to be exactly what they are, organizations intent on destroying what they see as an evil threat against their religious beliefs.

It's not too late, not while we're living
Let's put our hands out in time.

Through history conflicts between people have been precisely that, conflicts between people, races, nations or religions. They have been defined as man against man. All conflicts have a common thread that ties them together, the lust for power and wealth. That is the root of all conflict. As Americans we have had enemies that we could look at, revile and fight. Enemies which had a nation of their own, Britain, Mexico, North, South, Lakota, Spain, Germany, Japan, Italy, Korea, Viet Nam, Iran and Russia. But how do you put a collective face on an organization that has no country? Whose members are made up of several countries to which they have no allegiance. Their only ties being a fanatical belief in an extreme and suicidal interpretation of their religion. Now we are faced with a conflict that is not directly tied to a nation, race or religion. We are faced with an enemy whose features are blurred and whose face we can't quite see. An intangible presence that we can't quite grasp and hold on to.

There's got to be a morning after
We're moving closer to the shore

There is no shortage of Patriotism for the powers that be learned their lessons well from their failures with the Viet Nam conflict. They strive to keep Patriotic images, thoughts and stories in our collective being so that we will not stand and protest what cannot be justified. The administration creates mythical villains and questionable scenarios to push their distasteful actions down Americans throats. As we swallow these bitter pills we are told that we must wave the flag or we are un-American.

I have yet to find anyone who disagrees with the actions that we took against the Taliban in Afghanistan after September 11th, 2001. I myself feel like we were 100% justified in how we responded to the attack on our soil. But short of finding the elusive 6' 6" Diabetic that needs regular dialysis that we still can't seem to locate, our actions should have ended there unless we were further provoked. But instead we were forced into a conflict with a Dictator with a justification whose only basis in reality was that he was evil. For the first time in history we became an invading country and not a defending one and all based on a lie that we are still expected to believe, "He has Weapons of Mass Destruction."

I know we'll be there by tomorrow
And we'll escape the darkness

So where does that leave us? It leaves us confused and still searching for the truth. It leaves us with an invisible and untouchable enemy. It leaves us working to find the Patriotism that we try harder everyday to find. It leaves us without a rallying battle cry to vanquish our enemy. It leaves us empty.

There once was a cartoonist by the name of Walt Kelly who created a swamp. Within that swamp lived a dozen little political creatures. The swamp was a world unto itself but every once in awhile the world outside the swamp would invade the sanctuary these swamp creatures had established for themselves. One of the swamp creatures, the one that most of the stories revolved around, was a small stripped shirt wearing O Possum by the name of Pogo. Pogo would speak with the collective voice of the creatures when the time came for resolution of their current state of affairs. There came a time when the creatures of the swamp were faced with an unknown enemy and Pogo stepped forward to not only identify the enemy but put a face to it. On this day, The Morning After September 11th, 2006, I feel that what only a cartoon character had the courage to say 30 years ago is appropriate to our current situation and circumstances as American's:

"WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US!"

I will always remember and mourn for those lost on September 11th, 2001 but it is now time to move upwards and onwards. Our brave American citizens who now find themselves in a foreign land sacrificing their lives for questionable reasons should be our one and only concern today. Bringing them home safely should be the only goal we are working for. It is time for us to turn our efforts inwards to our own country, look deep inside our soul and correct our own problems before we play big brother to the world and try to correct the problems of others. We need a time of resolution, restructure and peace for us as Americans. It is time to clean up the mess we have made and begin a new day then:

We won't be searching anymore.
There's got to be a morning after

"The elected official works for the people! You do not make promises to your boss which are beyond your power to keep and expect to hold your position."

-Jim George- Democratic Candidate, Kansas State House of Representatives District #12

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For more on Walt Kelly and Pogo please visit http://www.bpib.com/kelly.htm