9/11, Sushi and thoughts in between

Time has passed, and enough physical miles have been put between myself and my brother's death in Afghanistan in 2001.

No one knows me from the news stories anymore, and no one recognizes my last name as being the last name of the first Massachusetts soldier killed in the war on terrorism. Different year, different state, different everything.

Today, at a sushi lunch with colleagues, the discussion turned to Sept. 11 and a philosopher who has researched the terror attacks and their underlying cause. Which of course, is supposed to be the U.S. government.

I sat silently, napkin folded in my lap, gaze cast downward. Back and forth the conversation went - six calm adults reasonably discussing a regularly mentioned topic. Of course, being a stranger in a new job in a new state, my colleagues didn't realize that sitting with them was a person whose very sanity lie with the knowledge that her older brother died for a noble cause - not because President Bush's palms were itching for more oil.

These days it's incredibly simple to point the finger at someone else. Americans do it all the time! And how easy is it to blame the government for such senseless acts, because there's really no one else with a face to blame.

I guess, at a certain point, it doesn't matter whose fault it was. Two buildings collapsed after being FLOWN THROUGH by two giant passenger jets. Whether it was some Triple Classified, uber-secret planning on the part of the government or a group of over-bearing, psychotic, desperate fundamentalists - down came the steel and glass, and down came thousands and thousands of lives. So many people have had their lives (or their sanity) ruined because of this nonsense.

People - I'll reiterate that a flying, 136-ton metal plane, filled with jet fuel, going 530 mph into a building will probably do some damage. Especially if you figure that the jets went through the upper middle of each building. I'm not really an architect, but I'm willing to bet that when piecing together the mystery of "Why the hell did the towers fall, anyway?" there really wasn't a whole lot of the traditional forensic analysis. It's kind of obvious. How could someone possibly think that the towers could survive such a devastating blow?

The thought that there is someone out there vainly trying to pin the blame on Bush is more than just a little incendiary. Say what you want about his being a buffoon (he kinda is) and say what you want about his foreign policy (not great, people). But a man who could mastermind (or help mastermind, or CHEER LEAD the masterminding of) such a heinous act - no. Sorry, not buying that. And I'll never buy that it was somehow the U.S. government's fault - as if they planned the attacks on our own soil to gain something - that so many thousands of people died.

But I guess if you're feeling a little low on the world-power totem pole, and you desperately want the attention of the world community, ya do what ya can to get your point across!

Piss people off, get attention, make a complete fucker out of yourself, no matter who you hurt in the process.

Hey ... it worked for Al-Qaeda, why shouldn't it work for gullible Americans?