Here we are, 10 years removed from 9/11. But where are we?
It's a question we should ponder.
Ten years ago after the most horrific attack on our homeland, Americans united. We were not going to cower; we would not give in to the barbaric terrorism.
And for a few months, anyhow, we were not Democrats or Republicans. We were just Americans.
Not surprising, really. Not when you think about it. Attacks on our country have a way of unifying us.
But that unity was a chimera, an illusion. Just a year or so later, we were back to the partisan behavior that colors our political lives - a behavior that has only become worse over the intervening time.
To the point that now we seemingly can't find common ground on anything. And I fear what that means to our country.
Because, in its own way, the crisis we face now is as daunting as the one we faced on Sept. 11, 2001. In fact, the current crisis is even more frightening, because it is more complex.
We face a crisis of confidence in our ability to govern, suspicions from both sides that the "other side" is somehow only concerned with power, with "gotcha moments."
In the midst of that is the more serious crisis, the economic one, the one that becomes worse because of our hyperpartisanship, our desire to - instead of finding solutions - point fingers and score political points.
What's become of us, 10 years later?
We're more afraid, less secure, more suspicious, less confident. And more prone to blame each other for the messes we're in.
We hear that someone in Washington will ultimately be "the adult in the room." But those in Washington - and we, too often - behave more like spoiled teenagers.
Reason has been replaced by emotion. If we don't get our way, we throw tantrums. It's never our responsibility for something; it's always someone else's fault. And they're not just wrong; they're bad, evil. We want sacrifice, just not sacrifice that costs us anything.
So how do we get out of this mess? How do we behave as the adults we are?
Well, we first need to look at ourselves. What can we do to diminish the suspicions, the fear?
We can start by listening to others. To folks who differ from us. But we don't need to stop there. We need to speak up as well.
Most of us are not the extremists we see who dominate political and media discourse. Most of us are much more reasonable than those folks. But we tend to be silent, to let them control the debates in our country.
We can stop that, though, by speaking through our votes. The more of us who vote, the more reasonable our country could be.
Don't think so?
When few of us vote, only the most motivated do. And those people tend to be the most extreme on either end of the political spectrum. Unsurprisingly, they vote for extremist politicians as well.
But if we - the majority who tend to sit on the sidelines, indifferent or disgusted by the process - actually participate, then maybe, maybe, we'll see a more reasonable government at all levels.
Ten years out, America is a fractured mess. But we are a strong people, if we choose to exercise that strength. We need to listen, to speak out, and to participate.
The men and women who died on 9/1 deserve nothing less.
• Mike McClellan is a Gilbert resident and former English teacher at Dobson High School in Mesa.
RationalHuman posted at 3:38 pm on Fri, Sep 9, 2011.
"We're more afraid, less secure, more suspicious, less confident. And more prone to blame each other for the messes we're in."
In other words, "Mission Accomplished" for the Islamofascists.
"Most of us are not the extremists we see who dominate political and media discourse."
Almost 80% of the American population believes an invisible man in the sky created the world 6,000 years ago...I call that pretty extreme (and ignorant).
Cerulean posted at 5:21 pm on Fri, Sep 9, 2011.
Well said, Mike.
Voter turnout in 2010 was less than 40% of those eligible to vote. That means that fewer than 20% of those eligible to vote decided the election that leaves us in our current, well . . . . ?
I think Arizona does surprisingly well considering that we sometimes show up with a 50% voter turnout rate. Still, Arizona is a rather unsophisticated state with few, if any monuments to great political leaders to adorn our public spaces. We like bronze horses and cows, there are a few buffalo grazing near Overgaard. Oh yes, there is that monument to a guy ‘Standing on the Corner in Winslow Arizona.’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_It_Easy
Have a good day.
chatmandu002 posted at 11:13 am on Sat, Sep 10, 2011.
Mike,
Are you saying that the silent majority should wake up and vote. Hmm, I thought that happened in 2010 when the Tea Party movement did a lot of the voting candidates in and out.
Hopefully the Taxed Enough Already silent majority will vote again in 2012.
Cerulean posted at 5:19 pm on Thu, Sep 15, 2011.
I forgot entirely that we have streets named after presidents in Phoenix. I inadvertently came upon an old article that reminded me of such. The article read, in part, “Central Avenue is as advertised: a lustrous north-south axis, gleaming with hotels, high-rise apartments, restaurants, offices and spiffy stores. The east-west axis is a triad of thoroughfares named after the three great presidents; Washington, Jefferson and Van Buren.
The Presidents are on the tacky side, lined with warehouses, motels and adult bookstores.” (Daniel Ben-Horin)
Funny thing, I never thought of Van Buren as a great president.
(read the article here: http://books.google.com/books?id=s-YDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=Mother+Jones+logo&source=bl&ots=KWd2UskvPt&sig=Vothyd3XH-973UcxAe2V3Vjf4Mg&hl=en&ei=yW1yTqK3KuzWiAKo48GgCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=15&sqi=2&ved=0CHEQ6AEwDg#v=onepage&q=Mother%20Jones%20logo&f=false)