On 9-11 I weep for the country I once knew.

[norepubsin08]

I was born in Germany the only child of a German National mother and an American Serviceman. A serviceman who served in World War II, the Korean War and lost his life because of the Vietnam War! I came to the US as a child and my first memory is getting on the NYC subway and going to the Statue of Liberty and having my father explain it's importance to me. I learned about American history and first became cognizant of current events at the tail end of the civil rights movement and the historic civil liberties rulings of the Warren Court. As a teen I watched in awe how diligent newspaper reporting and good prosecution averted a constitutional crisis in the Watergate affair. I earned my American citizenship in my own right by testing for it and then as an adult had the high honor of being a Democratic candidate for US Congress.

Then came 9-11 and how things have changed. What was once held sacred and made this nation unique has been torn apart and has been bastardized by the right wing for pure political gain. Where has it gotten us? At one time, specially after 9-11, we had a huge reserve of good will among the nations of the world. Because this administration wanted to exploit 9-11 and exploit it did! We entered into a phony war of aggression and are now seen as bullies and an oppressor nation among the peoples of the world.

Our economy was strong during much of the Clinton years. Prosperity was up, home ownership up, the standard of living up and income for many increased...until 9-11. Not any more. We now have the highest bankruptcy rates, highest fuel, heating and transportation costs, home foreclosures are near an all time high, education and health costs are soaring beyond measure and the cost of living has become a struggle for many. Why? Our priorities are messed up. We spend trillions on a war that never should have been started. Money is diverted to outfits like Blackwater, Bechtel and Cheney's cohorts and the military industrial complex. We are rapidly sinking into being a second word nation.

How sad it is! In many ways the terrorists have won! The nation that my immigrant mother and her young son once held in awe is today a shadow of itself. We now live with a loss of civil rights, a knowledge that our government is spying on us, the collective weight of our administrations use of torture (of which not too long ago we tried other nations for) and even worse...a deepening feeling of paranoia and cynicism.

Most of all, I weep for the loss of life and promise. What could have become of the soldiers who died, the children in Iraq who were killed, the families in the US and Iraq who won't have a relative coming home. For those imprisoned on trumped up charges of terrorism and also for the intangible loss of what all those squandered resources could have accomplished.

It will take a certain core of anger and a certain resolve to inch back to where once were. As Obama so aptly stated: "It is time to take back our country" Time to end the phony war on terrorism, time to be a cooperative member of the world community, time to help the marginalized and oppressed, time to stand up for civil liberties, time to demand clean elections and most of all time to exert vigilance of our governing officials and call upon the press to inform!

Let us get to work in the cause and weep no more!!!!

Please excuse my grammar, I speak English fluently but still struggle a bit with composition.

Peace-Mike C

[WritersBlock]

1. Poignant, powerful, and beautiful.

Thank you.

[niyad]

2. k & r-- thank you for posting this.

you wrote so eloquently. I hope you don't mind if I keep this in my files.

Peace, Mike

[norepubsin08]

4. Not at all- I'm honored

[jhain]

3. Thank you

I needed to read this tonight.

[Norrin Radd]

5. kr