Sixteen Years Have Fogged Our Minds

Sixteen years ago today America was stunned by an act of sheer barbarism perpetrated by hate-fueled adherents of a bad interpretation of iron-age mysticism. On that day I lost three coworkers, one of whom was also a friend, and the memory is as sharp and fresh as it was the day after it happened.

Lieutenant Commander Vince Tolbert, USN.
Angela Houtz
And of course Gerry Moran.

In the sixteen years since we’ve seen America slowly lose its way. Theatrical and ultimately ineffectual measures have chipped away at our basic freedoms. We’ve failed to heed the old wisdom that says “those who would sacrifice their essential liberty for the sake of momentary security will soon find that they have neither.”

What is especially galling, even frightening, is that the same forces and twisted beliefs that drove the 9-11 terrorists to commit their despicable acts are evident in America today. Religious fundamentalists attack our most important beliefs, such as that all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Goose-stepping morons parade in our streets, spewing their filth at any and all within hearing, while the reality-impaired followers of the extreme left dress up their own insanity in the guise of “help.” People claim to have “awoken” because they’ve fallen for propaganda that matches their existing biases. We’ve elected a complete imbecile to our highest office based almost solely on populist drivel and a deep seated anger amongst small-minded people who are afraid of change.

It was the same factors driving the Islamist lunatics who perpetrated 9-11. We can’t slide down that same slope. We must be better. We must be informed, rational, and view the world as it actually is, not thru the lens of whatever ism we find appealing or trendy.

Western liberal democracy is in existential danger, almost at the point of crisis. Short term thinking runs amok, ideologues pollute the public discourse, and no-one seems to be willing to look beyond their own nose.

It’s time to do better, and the memory of 9-11 should be inspiration enough for that, shouldn’t it?

Fourteen Years Have Not Dimmed the Memory

Jerry Moran. Angela Houtz. Lieutenant Commander Vince Tolbert. It's hard to believe it was fourteen years ago on a clear and crisp September morning when refugees from the twelfth century crashed airplanes into buildings and shook us out of our complacency. We remember.

Camelot's Last Watchman Departs

Teddy Kennedy has died. I honestly don't know how to feel about this. Ideologically, he was on the "wrong" side of a lot of issues to me, but he was a force to be reckoned with in the Senate. And some of his major accomplishments were landmark pieces of legislation, reshaping the social and political landscape of America for the better.

But Ted Kennedy was also a virtual poster boy for the "tax and spend" school of politics. And altho his record of service in the Senate is remarkable for its length and breadth, it also stands as an example of what's wrong with American politics, where people get in to Congress (either chamber) and take root. It's hard to credibly advocate for "fresh ideas" when you've been in the same office for four decades.

All other considerations aside, Ted Kennedy's passing marks the end of an amazing political saga, from his brother John F Kennedy's rise, to Bobby Kennedy's equally tragic story, to his own phenomenal career. Teddy was the last of his generation, the final sentry on the battlements of Camelot. The family scions now in public service just don't have the gravitas of the Jack/Bobby/Ted triumvirate. Somehow, the greatness of the Senate itself seems now diminished, as if a central pillar had been removed.

Fare thee well, Senator Kennedy.