IF DEATH COMES SO CHEAP, THE SAME GOES FOR LIFE
Stating the obvious, it's been a surreal couple of days. Peter 
Jennings, who I've really grown to like, really hit the nail on the 
head when he described the WTC collapse as such. I still find it kind 
of mind boggling when I watch the re-runs.

It's especially strange because I really feel like I (and others) 
have been waiting for something like this to happen. I don't mean 
that we were looking forward to it or would in any way have wished 
for it to happen. But I've spoken to friends many times before about 
the subject of terrorism in America. Why doesn't it exist?

There have been active terrorist organizations in almost every other 
country. Left wing, right wing, religious cults (I include 
Christianity under that heading) and who knows what else, the one 
thing that most of them can agree on is that America is the big bully 
on the block and is the enemy of the world. I never could understand 
why they spent so much time blowing things up in their own countries 
when America was such a wide-open target. And the number one target, 
in my opinion, was the WTC with the offices of multi-nationals in it 
as well as the World Bank and it's proximity to the Stock Exchange.

It's also so very symbolic. Knocking down those two towers was like 
saying, "Hey America, you may think you're big and strong. But we 
just knocked down your two biggest phallic symbols." Have you ever 
told a big macho skinhead that he was impotent?

So when it finally happened (I'm already talking like it was some 
event in a US History book), of course it's horrible and the loss of 
life is horrendous. But I can't say I didn't expect it. I know I 
wasn't alone feeling that way. I could be wrong, but propaganda by 
deed is the most powerful. I would be surprised if the WTC attack 
wasn't a precursor to a new age of terrorism in the US. Like the 
Oklahoma City bombings, it's proof that it can be done and it's proof 
that if you're willing to put your life on the line, it's virtually 
unstoppable.

This seems obvious to me and now I'm realizing what the real danger 
of a President like Bush is. Of course, Gore is also evil and would 
probably be just as anxious to please the American public's bloodlust 
and fragile ego ("We're #1!" "God bless America!" Fuck off!). But 
Bush is a special kind of stupid. Ultimately, all Presidents' are 
manipulated by other forces (Big business, the pentagon, the Knights 
of Malta, whatever.) But Bush is especially likely to do something 
really rash that could lead to a much more dangerous end. He's 
obviously flailing out there and has no idea what to do. Once he 
starts making real decisions as to what kind of revenge America 
seeks, he could start making a lot of big and extremely dangerous 
mistakes. Right wing, left wing, whatever: we may all be fearing for 
our lives. 

Americans seem to think that they're Romans in the Coliseum and 
historically Bush isn't opposed to keeping the people happy with 
blood sports. If we start attacking Afghanistan or Pakistan or 
Florida for that matter it will be like the ultimate mixture of Bread 
& Circuses with reality TV. I don't think that I'm being cynical in 
saying that ABC, NBC, FOX, etc. are secretly ecstatic. This must be 
better than sweeps week for them. Everyone is blinded with a sick and 
joyous rage against helpless targets. I wonder if anyone is practical 
enough to start thinking about how this is all going to affect the 
economy? Closing down the stock exchange for a week is one thing. But 
the President having unlimited access to all government financial 
resources is another. Do you trust Bush to spend our last bit of 
savings wisely? Do you remember what lead to the Great Depression? 
Are we heading for Class War or a right wing coup?

If you're a billionaire or a multi-millionaire, you're not gonna be 
too concerned about Bush draining all the money from social security. 
The rich won't be the ones homeless and starving. It's obvious whose 
interests are prioritized in the hunt for Bin Laden or whoever. It 
should also be obvious that nobody really cares about the interests 
of the middle class and lower in this country. The most laughable 
(and not much is really that laughable) is that tomorrow (Friday) 
Bush has declared a day of remembrance for the people that died in 
the attacks. He's urging everyone to take time to pray DURING THEIR 
LUNCHBREAKS. Yeah, all those people died but big business and 
corporate America aren't about to give anyone a day off to remember 
or contemplate these lost lives.

What's most appalling is how self-serving all the American 
politicians are. Listening to the Senators making those utterly 
quaint and self-serving speeches on Tuesday and then singing "God 
Bless America" was nauseating on so many levels. Thousands of people 
dead is now a future campaign strategy. It says a lot that, when 
interviewed for ABC, players for the New York Giants seemed more 
lucid and sincere than any politician.

Now there's misinformation being circulated about the White House and 
Air Force One being targets of the attack. I don't think anyone 
believes it. It may be the White Houses biggest lie in the matter and 
they're already being a little coy about it. It's a smoke screen to 
avoid the real question. When Bush claims that "cowards" did these 
terrorist attacks he doesn't want anyone asking the obvious. What's 
more cowardly: taking over a plane and flying it into a building or 
hiding in secret while the country that you're the president of is 
under attack? Shit, even JFK sat at his desk during the Cuban Missile 
Crisis.

God, it's so painful. I can take seeing the wreckage. I can take the 
relentless footage of planes hitting buildings. But I can't take 
hearing Bush's fucking voice anymore. I think the final straw was 
that live phone call with him and Pataki and Giuliani. It was so 
lame. Anyone who believes that it was a real exchange must also 
think "Days Of Our Lives" is a documentary.

But the propaganda machine in the media is in full blitz. We're 
bombarded by borderline racist comments about Muslims. We're 
bombarded by pathetic pro-Israeli editorials about how we should now 
understand how the Israeli's feel even though they are the 
occupational government. Is it any surprise that Palestinians were 
celebrating in the streets? At my most cynical, I'd say they were 
just as stupid as Americans. Frat boys and jock and other idiots were 
cheering while they drank in sports bars around the US while watching 
live footage of missiles hitting civilian targets in Iraq. What's 
worse?

Within the media itself there are different tiers and while I do 
respect people (who I may not essentially agree with) like Jennings 
who's had the decency to respectfully interview Palestinian and Arab 
leaders there are far more opportunists in their midst. Scumbags are 
everywhere hoping to capture THE human-interest story. I'm sick of 
seeing reporters talking to victims or the victims' families and just 
waiting for them to cry. "How will you feel if you find out she's 
dead?" "Would you be willing to trade your life for your dead 
brothers?" Or what about the reporter interviewing the surgeon after 
hours of work? "How does it feel to be a person whose job is to save 
lives be surrounded by so much death?" It's sickening.

And Ari Fleischer^Å For fuck's sake, it's become obvious to everyone 
that every time Bush opens his mouth, something stupid comes out. 
More and more, it's fallen to Fleischer to deliver information from 
the White House and now he's on TV relating some human-interest story 
on how "touched" the President was when he visited victims in a 
hospital. God knows Bush wasn't able to convey any emotion as complex 
as that during any of his public addresses. But does Fleischer have 
to refer to him as if he were the Great Oz? He and the impotent Colin 
Powell are definitely trying to make the most out of the utterly 
empty statements Bush has made.

Of course most people I know, and I'm guessing just about everyone 
who reads this, isn't your "average American". They're not the doe 
eyed patriots that can't believe that any civilized people could hate 
America with such intensity. This attack might be a real crisis in 
faith for middle America. They've believed in America for so long and 
without any logical reason, that once they start questioning their 
belief systems and analyze WHY they have that belief system, their 
lives could start unraveling.

But my friends and me are in an odd situation. Hey, I don't like Bin 
Laden or the Taliban (assuming that's who's behind this^Å we may never 
know). But I don't like Southern Baptists either. All religions are 
kind of the same to me. I don't like the Afghani system of 
government, obviously. But I'd be hard pressed to find any tolerable 
government amongst the nations condemning them. Putin and Bush 
criticizing a nation for harboring terrorists? It's absurd. I 
certainly have no feelings for the Christian proselytizers who are 
currently under arrest and probably shitting bricks in Afghanistan. 
They're all vicious. There are no "sides" worth siding with.

And what can you say about an attack on the Pentagon? I can honestly 
say that I've been hard pressed to find any emotional connection to 
that attack. It's the seat of American militarism. Next to the World 
Bank, it's about as evil as can be. I'm no pacifist. But I certainly 
don't like seeing people die. But I really can't relate to any 
remorse over an attack there and I get the impression that more and 
more people feel the same. Even the news media isn't reporting the 
Pentagon attack with the same concern as with the WTC attack. It's 
awful to feel indifferent to death and destruction. But is it any 
different than the death and the destruction that goes on around the 
world and is almost entirely ignored by Americans? I know that this 
is gonna sound really trite, but maybe this is all Karma for our 
indifference towards all the people killed because of American 
business interests around the world. Too bad I don't believe in Karma^Å

Anyway, I'm turning off my television. I can't stand it anymore. I 
don't like being manipulated and I know I can't resist this level of 
propaganda. As much as I hate to say it, it's become boring.