Better Late Than Never...

9/11
September 11th, 2011

Last Sunday was the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. I wanted to post something about it then, but well, here I am.

There is not much more that needs to be said about this day that hasn't been said already. We all know how we felt on that day, and we all know what we've lost in this past decade as a result of what happened on that day.

I can only hope that we make this next decade one of peace.

In closing, I would like to share with you this letter from John Perkins. It's pretty blunt and honest, and worthy of reflection.

9/11 Take Back America

Dear friends,

On the 10th anniversary of 9/11 I want to share with you my thoughts on how we can take back America. I know we can all do this together and have great faith in what we can accomplish.

9/11 – Take Back America

By John Perkins

As we honor that fateful day, it is heart-wrenching to realize that 9/11 destroyed so much about America that I once loved.

This sad fact was evident the other day when I traveled up the White River in Vermont where people desperately trying to survive the ravages of Hurricane Irene are told that our nation is running out of money to help them and other disaster victims. I wonder how they feel about the billions of dollars spent every day fighting wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.

Our loss as a nation was evident even before Irene -- when I jogged on old rail road rights-of-way that pass under bridges that are riddled with decay, rotten concrete and rebar; I had that sinking feeling that comes from the knowledge that infrastructure around my country is dilapidating at unprecedented rates while a few business executives get rich building war machines that demolish villages, raze hospitals, and kill children. I have to ask: How will my 4-year old grandson feel when he stands beside a river he can't cross and stares at the collapsed bridge his granddad's generation refused to repair?

It is also evident every time I get manhandled by airport security people. Or read about Bradley Manning and others who have been imprisoned and sometimes tortured because they expose crimes committed by a military that is supposed to defend their rights to free speech.

In the outlandish debates in Congress over the budget, the way our system of government has deteriorated into a dangerous power struggle that would be laughable if it weren't so damn dangerous.

In the schisms between "conservatives" and "liberals."

And in the budget cuts in education, health care, and social services. . .

I need not go on. We are all experiencing the horrible ways our nation has changed in the last decade.

Like many other Americans, I'm not convinced that we've been told the whole truth around 9/11 story. I find it difficult to believe that a man with a walkie talkie in a Himalayan cave could execute such a complex operation or that an air attack on the Pentagon would not be repelled by fighter jets – and no general would lose his job. But I do know that if subversives wanted to destroy the country I love they could not find a better method for accomplishing that task.

Our downfall started with 9/11. Or, more precisely, because of the way we reacted to 9/11.

After 9/11, we as a nation fell under the spell of those who seek to control us through fear. That fateful day hammered us into submission.

AND we submitted. We must accept that responsibility. We now need to take this opportunity, the tenth anniversary – and the weeks after – to look ourselves in the mirror. Each and every one of us must ask what we intend to do to shake off our shackles and win our country back.

The Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 is a Call To Action! Let's mourn the victims.
Embrace their families in compassion – along with those of all the people who have died in the subsequent wars. But above all else, lets commit ourselves to taking back America!

John Perkins

New York Times bestselling author

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