The End of the Beginning of 9/11
"This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end.
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
-- Winston Churchill, November 10, 1942
It's taken me awhile to settle down since Tuesday. It was my busy time at work and Election Day - though happy - went on waaaay too long for this ol' girl. And it took a few days for all the results to come in and learn we got the Senate. I had to search out George Allen's concession speech just to make sure I'd heard it right. It was a lovely speech to watch. I highly suggest you Google/You Tube it.
As the numbness has worn off, I've come to see that this election is the other end of the 9/11 bookend set. What started with a terrible tragedy and a horrific day ended with us redefining ourselves as a country of pre-emptive war. I don't think that's what those people died for.
We've been cowed for five and a half years as citizens and consumers. We've been asked to shop instead of shrug off fear because all we had to fear was fear itself. We've been asked to swallow huge budget deficits and corruption because we were chattel. I know the feeling. I'm from Washington, D.C.
Last Tuesday's election proved that the country really could stand up and be counted. I hear the national turnout was around 40%. Here in Vote by Mail Oregon, it was 70%. I heard of three hour lines at polling places in Idaho where people stood in the cold until they could get inside, warm their hands, and mark their ballots. Lines in Tennessee were even longer. That kind of participation can't be faked or manipulated. That kind of voting is real. I love it. It means people still believe. It means there's hope.
So Tuesday was the end of the beginning of 9/11. The warrior ways we embraced after that awful day have proven empty and their proponents voted out. We turned our back on them. We've turned a corner. Even if another terrorist attack happened today its repercussions would be different. I truly believe we'd try another route than the last failed strategy.
I know this period of mourning. It's a good corner to turn. Onward and upward.
As the numbness has worn off, I've come to see that this election is the other end of the 9/11 bookend set. What started with a terrible tragedy and a horrific day ended with us redefining ourselves as a country of pre-emptive war. I don't think that's what those people died for.
We've been cowed for five and a half years as citizens and consumers. We've been asked to shop instead of shrug off fear because all we had to fear was fear itself. We've been asked to swallow huge budget deficits and corruption because we were chattel. I know the feeling. I'm from Washington, D.C.
Last Tuesday's election proved that the country really could stand up and be counted. I hear the national turnout was around 40%. Here in Vote by Mail Oregon, it was 70%. I heard of three hour lines at polling places in Idaho where people stood in the cold until they could get inside, warm their hands, and mark their ballots. Lines in Tennessee were even longer. That kind of participation can't be faked or manipulated. That kind of voting is real. I love it. It means people still believe. It means there's hope.
So Tuesday was the end of the beginning of 9/11. The warrior ways we embraced after that awful day have proven empty and their proponents voted out. We turned our back on them. We've turned a corner. Even if another terrorist attack happened today its repercussions would be different. I truly believe we'd try another route than the last failed strategy.
I know this period of mourning. It's a good corner to turn. Onward and upward.
posted by dcnative @ 8:49 PM
1 Comments:
Here, here! And hear, hear, too!
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