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Sun. Mar 10, 2002

180 Days

180 Days, But Not 180 Degrees – Today, unless you’re for some reason cave-bound, it’s hard to avoid thoughts of 9-11. The six month anniversary brings a media torrent of forced recollections of that day.

I wasn’t there, I was hundreds of miles away, in no danger. I’d been up very late the night before, and awoke to the news on the radio telling of the first crash. Within 5 minutes, I watched the second flight crash into the Trade Center, standing half awake in my living room. That day was like an out of body experience for me, entirely surreal. Yesterday, I went back and looked at my weblog for that week, like the day after: "I’ve only had about 4 hours sleep, as my brain was very reluctant to shut down last night. It had received so much sensory input, of such a visceral and previously unseen nature, it seemed to be working overtime to sort and file the day’s events, often coming up empty on just where to place this particularly ugly fact, or that previously unseen horror."

It hardly captures how fragile I felt that week, stuck at home during a work slump, spending every waking moment trying to absorb something, anything, that made some sense of it all. But I was far from unique in that respect.

Others can better recollect more relevant events of that day, those who survived the attacks, or lost a loved one. Our thoughts and hearts must be with them today. But I think it’s also important to look at what we know now, that we didn’t know then. The physical impacts at the Trade Center and the Pentagon were a catalyst beyond the obvious military campaign in Afghanistan they insured. They still reverberate here at home, in different ways for different people.

· Police & Firefighters · Much has been made of the courage displayed by NYC firefighters and police officers on 9-11, but most of them will tell you they were just doing the job for which they were trained. The alarm came in at most fire stations right at shift change. Nobody went home, they loaded up to do their job. But glorious as it is, New York doesn’t have the corner on that market. The guys and gals in your town would do the same thing should duty call. So tomorrow when you see one of those folks in uniform, know you are likely looking at someone who would risk their life to save yours, when the going gets tough. Right here in River City.

· US Military · And while we’re on the subject of uniforms, look at what we’ve learned about the US military. Far from the leaden risk-averse bureaucracy our enemies expected (and perhaps some allies as well), the US military rose to the occasion and silenced their foes, physical and rhetorical.

Were they perfect? Of course not. But look at the logistical accomplishments. Less than a month after the attacks, the first of some 20,000 bombs began to fall, and in a little over two months Kabul had fallen, making the demise of the Taliban clear. They did it by making fast and surprising new allies, they did it by basing Special Forces on an aircraft carrier, and they did it on horseback.

Perhaps most importantly, they learned, or at least had positively reinforced, that thinking outside the box can have spectacular payoffs. Sometimes circumstances force you to improvise, leverage new techonology, and take unproven approaches. And sometimes you develop entirely new strategies from these tactical advances. I have a lot more hope for our military’s direction that I did prior to 9-11.

· Congress is Capable · For a brief shining moment (or was it simple hallucination?) Congress pulled together in an amazingly non-partisan fashion. For a while, they acted … [gasp!] ... in the best interests of their country and their constituents. But it was not unlike the temporary shine of a carwash in the spring, soon to be as sulleyed with layers of pollen as it was before. As though it never happened.

Their mistake was showing us that capability does indeed lurk inside. We thought it was genetically impossible, but we learned that with the proper urgent circumstances and sufficient distance from Election Day, they can Do The Right Thing. It’s a pity that neither pre-condition exists any longer.

· Why Do They Hate Us? · After the initial shock of 9-11, it is typical of the American Nature that we asked ourselves this question. Despite the fact we invented the Victim Mentality and exercise it daily, in this most serious circumstance it was our instinct to try and understand. Books about Islam, the Middle East, and bin Laden shot up the best seller lists. Various pundits near and far offered up a list of reasons they hate us. But over the course of six months, those initial qualms (”gee, are we really that oppressive without meaning to be?”) have been ground to dust by volumes of evidence … from Saudi Arabia, from Palestine, and from Osama himself. It’s a question that’s been addressed by a broad spectrum of people in an exhaustive manner. In the end, in the simplest terms, most Americans have come to the realization that the fact they hate us doesn’t mean we’re wrong. Or that we should give one inch to anyone associated with such terror, no matter their motivation. We’ve learned that rather than ask why they hate us, we must ask how we can properly defend ourselves from those who are so irrational they wish to kill our women and children. You can’t begin to rationalize that kind of behavior. In the words of a TV character (Tobey on West Wing), ”they’ll like us when we win.” That has become the priority. Let the consequences of actions speak for themselves.

In my personal opinion, the fact ”they hate us” is a projection of self-hatred and poor self esteem, and is caused in part by the Arab governments that suppress their domestic protests, yet encourage the rage to be vented at the US. It is epitomized in the fact that, to this day, Islamic fundamentalists believe Arabs did not carry out 9-11, it was likely the Israeli’s. The reason given? Arabs are not capable of such a complex attack, only the Mossad could do that, and they control the Americans like puppets. The level of denial is sad, as it points to roots over which we have little control: their own self-image.

In the end, I remember the words of Mark Steyn ... ”It’s easier for a Palestinian to emigrate to Toronto and become a subject of the Queen than to emigrate to Riyadh and become a subject of King Fahd” ... and I know the primary problem does not lie in the West.

· Phone Home · In those last terrible moments of so many lives that day, they used that precious time to try and call their loved ones. To leave a message if they could do nothing more. We all let our mind go there at one time or another in those early days … what if I’d been on that hijacked plane? What if I’d been on the 102nd floor? We might think of the actions we would have taken to get out, to change the horrible ending already fated. But the reality is, in the midst of the chaos and struggle to survive against approaching death, most of them tried to phone home.

In the days afterwards, across the country, parents hugged their children a little tighter. Families spread across several states doubled up on keeping in touch. Lovers didn’t take daily parting for granted, as the ritual ”I love you” become more than ritual. The nagging man in the back of our brain whispered ”what if this was the last time you saw them? Did you say I love you?”

That little man may speak up less frequently these days for some of us. We’ve gotten some distance from the suddenly very real fear of having people violently torn from your life with no warning. But it still happens every day. Only when it hits close does the little man become persistent. But that was a lesson learned that we should never forget, and pray it is never reinforced.

Some have lamented that the immense human capital that was generated by this event was not directed productively. Some say if Congress had issued a declaration of war it would have focused the country in forgotten ways. I’ve personally complained that the President did not leverage his personal political capital (the 80-85% approval ratings) to get difficult things done domestically. Either of those initiatives could / would /should have resulted in far greater air security than we’ve gained in the past six months, among other things. The bureaucratic molasses could have been swept aside, and real progress made. Instead, we’ve still got Argen-Not-So-Bright Security napping at the checkpoints, the cockpit door version of The Club in some aircraft, and enough air marshalls to secure every 100th flight.

Luckily, as we’ve seen time and time again, the very best airline security is your fellow passengers. Once we all realized that in a hijack situation, It Is Your Ass On The Line, well, pity the fools who try to take over an American flight. Even if the plane eventually goes down, the hijackers will die with grandmothers poking their eyes and children knawing their ankles.

Though it’s been 180 days, our lives have certainly not turned 180 degrees. For most of us, it is largely unchanged, other than the new found hassles of air travel and occaisional suspicious mail. We were asked to be normal (harder for some than others) and go shopping (right after you get a job). "The All Volunteer US Military is in the house, and every couple of days we’ll try to send you videos of some stuff blowing up, so you go enjoy Freedom Park. The Rumsfeld Rollercoaster only runs at 11:00, 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00, so go enjoy the other rides."

While some lament that the American people weren’t asked to do more, to take more of a war footing, I tend to think of this as a marathon. We will have to call on our strength in the times ahead. No need to burn out in the first mile.

So enjoy your lull. Remember the lives lost 6 months ago. But know it isn’t over. We have a long year ahead.