Least Loved Bedtime Stories v. 2.0

The War Against Terror has lost major cool points, apparently, now that the Department of Defense has cooked up the following event for September 11th this year:

The America Supports You Freedom Walk is the fourth September 11 commemorative activity sponsored by the DoD. The goal for the 5th anniversary in 2006 is for each state to host a Freedom Walk in order to provide an opportunity for as many citizens as possible to reflect on the importance of freedom.

There’s going to be a “walk” (which means, I guess, a bunch of people getting together and walking, kind of like those crippled kid things — March of Dimes and so on), and a country music concert. This has some people rigid with disapproval, or simmering with rage, or in whatever state of unhappiness they get into when something goes on that doesn’t meet with their personal tastes. Such is life — no one consulted me about stocking the stores with fringed yarn ponchos and halter tops as if it were 1974, and no one consulted September 11th widow Monica Gabrielle on what should be done on the anniversary of her husband’s death. Of course, a few thousand other people also lost friends and family members on that day four years ago, but this article doesn’t seem to have been able to find anyone else of that group to ask an opinion of but Mrs. Gabrielle. Well, newsthing employees are busy people, and I guess they had her phone number already.

Michele doesn’t approve either. One of her puzzling reasons is because the war is one “that a lot of people don’t feel good about.” Yes — people like Michael Moore, Oliver Stone, Saddam Hussein, and Osama Bin Laden (if he is still alive) are not, by all report, too thrilled about the war. However, I’m not sure why their feelings should be consulted on the matter. Another thing she says is

Mixing the “let freedom ring” chorus in with the funeral dirge that is still ringing in the hearts of the victims’ families is just shy of vile.

So, are we to understand that the sight of a group of fellow Americans praising freedom would only be salt in the wounds of someone who lost a loved one in the attack? I am prepared to believe that some of the family members do feel that way; the attitude, called “misery loves company” has been known to occur. However, it has not been known to be approved of as a valid criticism of anything. As for the continued grieving of the people who lost family and friends… after four years it’s time to, if not stop grieving, then to stop expecting everyone else to walk around in a haze of depression and uncertainty as if it were still 10:45am on September 11th 2001. I don’t believe that the general attitude of people during World War II — while that war was still being fought, you understand — was one of gloom and despair. While of course gloom and despair (and grief and loss) was ever present, every effort was made, no matter how silly these things might seem to us today (e.g., collecting toothpaste tubes and aluminum foil linings from cigarette packets), to build morale and make the citizenry feel that they were doing something towards the war effort, not simply having it done while they sat on the sidelines. Why do people think FDR made that famous “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” speech anyway? And on the American side alone we lost 405399 soldiers. That’s nearly half a million, folks. Countries in Europe lost more. In the Siege of Leningrad, 1 1/2 million died.

There are days when I have absolutely no patience with our coddled, neurasthenic, infantile society, and this is one of them. I am tired of people complaining that the administration isn’t acting in perfect concord with the thoughts of ten thousand people writing on the internet. I am getting tired of people complaining that the administration isn’t “doing enough” for the troops, for the people, for our safety, to “explain” the war to “the people” who are apparently all deaf, dumb, and blind, and then when someone in our hapless, human government comes up with something, yells in horror: “Oh no, not that way!” And doing this all on their own personal blog which let me tell you right now is not read by Donald Rumsfeld or Condi Rice or George W. Bush because quite frankly they are too goddamn busy trying to keep a future administration several years down the line from turning half the planet into radioactive glass because our lazy asses thought that fighting a smaller, more difficult war with conventional methods like soldiers and guns was “too hard” and “our kids over there kept getting killed” and “it made us uncomfortable.”

If I let myself think about this I can’t even begin to explain the choking feeling of frustration and rage that overwhelms me. Everything seems to be a “yes, but.” You know — “Yes, we had to put a stop to Islamic terrorists attacking us but we have to do it in a way that won’t make a mess.” Not to mention it can’t be uncool or remind anyone about all those boring evenings in their childhood when they were forced to be polite to boring old Aunt Charlotte or wear a “good dress” that they weren’t supposed to get messy or of the nun that whacked them on the knuckles for talking back in class or of anything difficult that they ever had to do. Because we are all slaves laboring in the cornfields for massa, don’t you know.

So you know, Bush — he doesn’t read, does he? And the way he talks — my dear, it is to cringe. And… did you hear, he spoke favorably of ID! No, no, not the movie — it’s some sort of creationist-type thing, well not really, but it’s Christian so it’s beyond the pale, and you just know that around the corner unless we keep this down with a constant barrage of sneers and insults — is a fascist hell of no abortions and women and men getting married and skirts below the knee and Lawrence Welk on prime time again!

A moat. With alligators. Around my private cabin deep in the woods on top of a mountain somewhere. Miles away from “civilization.” Yeah.

(Update: I have enhanced, or something, this mess with a few additional statements.)

Second Update: ilyka was right — it is the “damn, dirty country music“!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 10th, 2005 at 10:03 pm and is filed under War. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.