A Dozen Years Ago, A Lifetime Ago

Twelve years ago today, much like today, I woke up, ate breakfast, and rode in to work.  I sat down at my desk, logged in to my computer, and started to read my email.  A few minutes later my manager came rushing down the hallway, sticking his head into each office and just said "Go Home" with a forceful urgency I hadn't heard from him before.  Puzzled, I opened up a browser and saw the horrible sight of the smoking north tower of the World Trade Center.  I didn't even read the headline.  I grabbed my gear, jumped on the bike and rode home as quickly as the Harley would get me there.  I turned on the news just in time to see the first footage released of the South Tower being hit.  The newscasters didn't yet call it an attack, but the footage said it all.  I heard the distinctive sound of those engines spooling up as the plane approached the tower and I knew it was a deliberate attack.  I didn't know who did it, but I knew it was an attack.  My gut wrenched and I had to run into the bathroom to throw up.

This morning, I woke up, ate breakfast, and rode in to work.  I sat down at my computer, opened up a browser, and right there on my home page was a picture of the smoking towers and I remembered that fateful morning like it had just happened.  Once again my gut wrenched and I had to run into the bathroom to throw up.  I was right there again.  I excused myself from work and rode home.
In previous years I had vowed to plow on and not let it stop me.  In previous years I defiantly went to work and did my job, vowing the monsters wouldn't win.  In 2010 when I attended the 9/11 rally followed by the 9/12 Tea Party on the National Mall in DC.  That was a special event.  Not only did I march with many thousands of my best friends, I also walked from the Pit of Vipers (The Capitol) to the Pillars of Virtue (Lincoln Memorial) with several of them.  I did so with purpose and vigor, meaning and intent, and I vowed the monsters would not win.

Today is a sad day for me.  The monsters are winning.  Our president is incoherent, insincere, and being played like a fiddle by the Russian president.  Our foreign policy is the laughing stock of the world, and the forces of evil no longer fear us.  The voices of reason and strength in this country are few and far between and it looks like the vast majority of my fellow citizens are ready to just give up, roll over, and welcome the chains of slavery.  And there is not a damned thing I can do about it.

It is written that no man shall know the time when the end happens, but that time is rapidly approaching.  The signs are all showing up and lining up.  Whether it is a deliberate act by the president and his friends or simple incompetence is irrelevant, they are hell bent to start another war.  After years of complaining that the previous wars were misguided and dishonestly sold to the people, the president isn't even trying to convince anyone that this one is a good idea.  In fact it looks like he is taking great pleasure in defiantly pressing on with one of the worst ideas in history, and the press is singing his praises for it.  Most of them are at least.  There are a few voices of reason out there, but they are few and far between, and have no real power or influence.

This is a sad day for me.  It is a sad day for my country.  It is a sad day for the world.  And all I can do about it is pray for guidance and wisdom to weather the coming storm.  But then, that is really like no other day when it comes right down to it, isn't it.