I’m so tired of hearing about “9/11.”
The media and politicians have used that term in so many
different, inappropriate ways that I just can’t bear to hear,
watch or read about it anymore. So I don’t. I ignore every
broadcast, article and book about the subject. I didn’t turn
my television on once this Sept. 11, just to be safe.
I began to grow jaded of “9/11″ shortly after
September 2001. Ironically, a date that should inspire solemnity,
compassion and hope became an instrument of a different sort of
terror here in the United States. “9/11″ was used as a
noose to hang those who dared criticize the U.S. or the
president.
Bill Maher stated that suicide bombers were brave for their
willingness to sacrifice their lives for their cause. His show,
“Politically Incorrect,” was taken off the air.
The Dixie Chicks implied that President Bush was incompetent at
one of their concerts. The accusation, which had simply been
chuckled at before Sept. 11, spurred those with far too much time
on their hands to throw the band’s CDs into the middle of the
road and burn them.
Anyone who questioned the war in Iraq was labeled
“un-American,” and their concerns were dismissed with a
simple, “Do you want 9/11 to happen again?” despite the
fact that Iraq had no connections with al-Qaida. The administration
repeated it so many times, however, (and only recently admitted
there was no such luck link) that a recent poll suggested that 70
percent of Americans still believe that to be true.
And then after that tactic began to grow old, Sept. 11 became a
little silly. It became the subject of poorly written country music
songs and movies. It inspired an alert system comprised of rainbow
colors.
And that’s only the half of it. Honestly
“reflecting” on Sept. 11, as so many news outlets
encouraged us to do, would not only mean accepting that the event
has been manipulated within our borders, but that it also has been
used to perpetuate tragedy outside of them.
It would mean dwelling on the fact that five years ago,
thousands of Americans were murdered on our own soil, and we
haven’t done anything about it except encourage terrorism by
spilling more American blood overseas. This is apparent after
hearing about a BBC report that the International Institute for
Strategic Studies concluded that the Iraq war probably boosted
recruitment numbers for al-Qaida, and put Westerners at an
increased risk of terrorism.
It’s even more discouraging to recall that just hours
after the attack, the name and face of the person responsible was
plastered all over the news: Osama bin Laden. And where is he now,
five long years later?
Oh, him. They’re getting to that. Really.
In all fairness, the current administration has invested so much
manpower into Iraq that there may not be anyone left to look for
bin Laden. This really is a shame, since on Sept. 8 I saw a
headline on the San Francisco Chronicle’s Web site declaring
that the Senate had made the spectacular discovery that there were
no links between al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein before the Iraq
war.
Apparently I’m not the only person trying to shield
herself from the news. Not only was there no hard evidence
presented before the war that al-Qaida had any ties to Saddam
Hussein, but the 9/11 Commission officially came to that conclusion
two years ago.
The way the American people have avoided really dealing with
9/11 is embarrassing. Thankfully it’s getting easier to
ignore ““ I should know ““ with each passing day.
Comedians no longer tiptoe around the questionableness of
Bush’s intelligence, the Dixie Chicks now feel free to
retract their apologies, and the preferred label for a Democrat has
been reduced to wimpy or whiny.
But for many, putting the tragedy and frustrations surrounding
Sept. 11 out of mind is not so easy, and much more personal. In
order to forget, some individuals need not only to ignore the
television but also the empty space at the dinner table or beside
them in bed at night ““ and the fact that the cause of those
empty spaces is still free and alive.
But it’s apparent that since almost immediately after the
tragedy occurred, on every day besides the anniversary of Sept. 11
““ when we are obligated to give our respects ““ respect
is what has been the easiest to ignore.
E-mail Strickland at kstrickland@media.ucla.edu. Send
general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.