Nine Eleven

Posted on by Carl Setzer

I’m rather conflicted by the whole 9/11 thing. Yes, I grieve for those lost. And the violence of the act was mind-numbingly senseless and evil. Yet, I refuse to give in to the mindless cheerleading type patriotism, jingoistic nonsense that the right has adopted. Their rush to destroy everything associated, however remotely, with the terrorists is counter-productive at best. At worst, retorting evil with evil is, well, feeding a mad cycle of destruction. Giving those who hate us “for our freedoms” other reasons to hate is just crazy.

I mourn the deaths of so many innocents to mindless hate. The deaths of the people just living their lives combined with the 343 deaths of firefighters “doing their duty” saddens me. It speaks to the danger of non-rational religiosity. A dangerous mind set beyond the Middle-East, joining us here in the West.

Published by Carl Setzer

A blogger blogging from just north of Seattle.

4 thoughts on “Nine Eleven”

  1. I'm with you. A friend posted yesterday about the shock moment when she realized it was 9-11. For me, the date is also my grandpa's birthday and grandma's death. I'm hyper aware of it beforehand, and realize that the personal meaning of the day within my family should far outweigh grandstanding for the sake of shallow patriotism.

    Patriotism isn't expressed through waving a flag on one set day. It's expressed through the daily actions one does to better themselves and their country, be it politically, environmentally or socially.

  2. I'm with you. A friend posted yesterday about the shock moment when she realized it was 9-11. For me, the date is also my grandpa's birthday and grandma's death. I'm hyper aware of it beforehand, and realize that the personal meaning of the day within my family should far outweigh grandstanding for the sake of shallow patriotism.

    Patriotism isn't expressed through waving a flag on one set day. It's expressed through the daily actions one does to better themselves and their country, be it politically, environmentally or socially.

  3. I agree whole-heartedly with your assessment of patriotism. Flapping around a flag adds nothing to the greater world.

  4. I agree whole-heartedly with your assessment of patriotism. Flapping around a flag adds nothing to the greater world.

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