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My thoughts on 9/11
B5C
Veteran
My thoughts from a year ago are still the same today:
I know some of you may not like my thoughts on this situation, but they are mine and it needs to be explained.
As America morns the 10th anniversary of the terrorists attacks. Has really anything good have come out of this? The war started when I just beginning my senior year in high school and now I am 27 years old graduated from college and married for 2.5 years. What did we get out of this? Two wars bleeding the US economy and her people. With the death of Osama Bin Laden a few months back. I don’t see any slowing down on the war on terrorism nor any goals in sight.
9/11 lead me into fear and to hatred. This was the reason why I became an Republican. I wanted revenge and if launching invasions to prevent another US attack is needed. What did we create? We created more suffering and more enemies. Yep, Yoda was right.
There is an estimated 73,530 – 1,173,600 casualties since 9/11 (Civilian, military, and insurgents). Was those numbers worth it to avenge the 3,000 who died on 9/11?
Serj Tankian sums it up in this video of these glorious ten years.
What was the other result on 9/11? Without 9/11 we won’t have Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and many more “New Atheists” being much open about the dangers of faith. I can surely see the dangers of faith on 9/11. 19 hijackers believer they are following Allah’s will to kill the infidels. Their faith is as strong as the Christians who believe their god saved the survivors of 9/11 and help lead to the deaths of Osama Bin Laden and the like.
For today: I am changing my avatar to Salvador Allende who was President of Chile until 9/11/1973 when he committed suicide when Augusto Pinochet's forced took over the government aided by the CIA.
I know some of you may not like my thoughts on this situation, but they are mine and it needs to be explained.
As America morns the 10th anniversary of the terrorists attacks. Has really anything good have come out of this? The war started when I just beginning my senior year in high school and now I am 27 years old graduated from college and married for 2.5 years. What did we get out of this? Two wars bleeding the US economy and her people. With the death of Osama Bin Laden a few months back. I don’t see any slowing down on the war on terrorism nor any goals in sight.
9/11 lead me into fear and to hatred. This was the reason why I became an Republican. I wanted revenge and if launching invasions to prevent another US attack is needed. What did we create? We created more suffering and more enemies. Yep, Yoda was right.
There is an estimated 73,530 – 1,173,600 casualties since 9/11 (Civilian, military, and insurgents). Was those numbers worth it to avenge the 3,000 who died on 9/11?
Serj Tankian sums it up in this video of these glorious ten years.
What was the other result on 9/11? Without 9/11 we won’t have Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and many more “New Atheists” being much open about the dangers of faith. I can surely see the dangers of faith on 9/11. 19 hijackers believer they are following Allah’s will to kill the infidels. Their faith is as strong as the Christians who believe their god saved the survivors of 9/11 and help lead to the deaths of Osama Bin Laden and the like.
“Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where’s the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labelled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let’s now stop being so damned respectful!” — Richard DawkinsAnother great video about this:
For today: I am changing my avatar to Salvador Allende who was President of Chile until 9/11/1973 when he committed suicide when Augusto Pinochet's forced took over the government aided by the CIA.
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Comments
That Dawkins quote at the end is so true... It also sort of explains this new atheist movement that I've actually always been a little confused by. Live and let live has gotten us to the place we are now, I suppose...
I'm thinking this group isn't for me after all.
B. Firebombing a city and killing upwards of 11,000 people (mostly civilians, mind you), in my mind, is just as horrific of an act in and of itself as hijacking planes, flying them into buildings, and killing 3,000 people. The point isn't the motive, however; it's the fact that human beings are capable of doing terrible and horrific things for many different reasons, in many different times and places.
Also we dig back into the past because what we did before help cause the events like 9/11. A lot of things we did during the Cold War did help lead to 9/11.
As for myself, I'm not yelling, simply stating facts about events that have happened on this day throughout history and suggesting that we never forget the terrible things human beings can do to one another, and the horrors we're capable of (as a whole). I'm sorry if that bothers you, but the terror attack on 9/11/2001 wasn't the only terrible thing that happened on this date, and the other events are also worth remembering, in my opinion, for one reason or another.
Focusing on a moment of horribleness in our own country/history and not even having an idea of the horribleness people right now live every day, because of just plain bad things, and because of things we have done to them in war, is just not good. I cannot tell you how many posts on FB I saw where people said "Whatever happens around the world doesn't affect me, so I don't care. I care what happened here 11 years ago and nothin else." That "I'm a true American Patriot" bullshit just needs to end.
:rolleyes:
I had family members working in the building directly across the street from the towers... escaping their building and running in a panic, while bodies fell from the sky just yards away from them . It was a horror that I can only imagine.
That all said, I believe it is possible to remember without too much attachment. I never want to forget those people and what happened to them... but not because I want to continue to 'hate on' muslims (and I admit, I was reacting quite badly and got swept up in the paranoia felt around NYC and along the east coast); but because we owe it to the people who passed away to remember it/them. We owe it to our country to remember as well.
We need to realize that every action we take around the world, whether we THINK we're 'right' or not, has consequences. 9-11 was a consequence, I also agree with Jason as well.
But anyway, I have released my hate, and my resentment and bigotry. Finally. It did take me a few years. But I did it. Buddhism helped me do that. But I still want to remember without the unhealthy attachment to the negative stuff. It can be done.... and should be, IMO.
It only makes sense to me. All the things justifiable post destruction.
I recommend watching "The Shock Doctrine".
9/11 was just another disaster for the sick bastards to exploit to no end.
If you were to have asked, "Why type about it?"
I'd have replied, "Well because this is a thread about someone's thoughts about 9/11 and I inserted my own thoughts about it too."
I would never have asked that question, I already know.
I think the motives for those kinds of messages lack care and compassion and that they're "off" - and I think motive is everything.
I didn't learn about the coups in Chile and Iran until College. That is when I had to gloss over the right wing/patriotic propaganda that filled my young head in high school. Americans love to ignore the bad things it has done and only view America as an exception to the world.
I have spoken about my friend in London before, a girl who left Iraq around 7 years ago with her family due to regular incidents where innocent people were being killed due to bombings and general fighting. The amount of people that were innocent that died in that country alone probably out-weighs the 2,967 deaths of 9/11 fity fold at least.
I personally feel there is too much emphasis in the west on how tragic and horrible 9/11 was (it was of course), but there is so little emphasis on the other side of the story which is IMO a lot more tragic, a lot more dirty and horrid, but that is a side of teh story few people are privy to.
As far as buddhist practice: personally, I know that if I find myself having a strong emotional response to what somebody says, it is a good opportunity for me to exercise some open, honest critical thinking and work on releasing those attachments.
"My parents don't get me. My mother is a nag, and she's always on my case about something. She isn't always right, either. She makes me so angry, I just can't stand the sight of her sometimes!
My Dad is an asshole sometimes. So self-righteous and arrogant. He's always criticizing me for everything! I wish he would just go to work one day and not come home. They both make me nuts!"
Someone walks up to the young man complaining:
"Hey, I ran into your mom and dad at the park the other day- wow! What idiots those two are! Your dad is a big-mouth blow-hard and your mom is a whining, naggin' wench....."
** POW ** Complaining man punches guy right in the nose.
"Those are my parents your talking about!!"
It's the same thing when one criticizes someone else's country. It's a natural reaction to defend what we (essentially) 'love', even when we know it's not perfect.
Peace.
I think why its important to point out America's own role, especially on a day where we want to bury our head in the American flag is in part so we don't keep our heads there and also from a Buddhist point of view we try to cover our own feet with shoes instead of trying to carpet the whole world.
I think maybe more the reason for bringing such things up on 9/11 is that as a day of remembrance those who disagree with US foreign policy see the attack as an example of policy blowback and take this day to remind us of that. Not that this view is neccesarily more important than remembering the countries suffering as there are many causes and conditions involved.
Buddhists are required to extend compassion to all sentient life, including those people we don't agree with and who behave badly. If we respond to violence with more violence, how are we any better? As Gandhi said, 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind'.
@RebeccaS and @telly03 how is discussing the impact of our governments reaction to the events that happened on 9/11 "distasteful, and disrespectful to those who would like to remember this day in a respectable manner"?
::bows out of thread permanently :::
Then kiss your country, freedoms, religion and possibly your life goodbye.
Compassion IS taking appropriate action.
If being Buddhist is rolling over while we are attacked then I'm not interested in being Buddhist.