Remember

For all of our problems, and our animosities toward each other in the USA, it should be remembered that we can organize and create amazing things, when motivated. We can build steel towers that defy wind and gravity by having the load bearing walls that stretch higher than any other tower on the planet. Two of them. And combined, contain more office space than all of downtown Miami in a two block radius on a small island in New York harbor. We, as Americans, can and have built massive structures such as the Hoover Dam, and interlocking Interstate Highway System and even put twelve men on the moon and brought them back. Those are examples of our government projects that work. Together, Americans can accomplish the impossible, or even the improbable. When they come together for common good, for our society, for our goofy consumer based, wasteful, capitalist lifestyle - Americans have done some amazing things.

There are others on the globe that hate us - some in other Western countries, and others in places that can only dream of our wealth, prosperity and waistlines. Whether it's because we flaunt it, are rude on vacation, or have carried out wars and assassinations to make sure we carry on. America has a bi-polar disease. We flaunt liberty and human rights while we have the largest prison population per capita than anyone else in the world. We expect human rights to not be ignored, but barely care when we hear our cheep toasters come from children working in deplorable conditions. And sure, the eight trips to Target in a week in the Lincoln MKX to pick up plastic bins that are on sale is silly and unsustainable. And we've done a lot of 'interesting' moves along the way to ensure the liberty of a lot of jack-asses. But that's our deal. We've done things to keep our silly lifestyle unmolested from foreign forces who would make us change our ways. But when you threaten us, we'll over react. Just ask Japan.

There are volumes of books about 9/11. How it happened, did it happen, who really did it... I'm not a conspiracy theory kind of guy. It was there, it was a symbol, and the bad guys wanted to send a message to America to cut it out. Twice. Once in February 26, the other on September 11th. They proved that they don't understand us, about as well as we don't understand them. Rather than getting into a geo-political discussion of the events leading up to and after 9/11... let's just remember that day. Remember everyone who died, and what you were doing, and how you felt when you saw the towers fall, and the walls of the Pentagon breached, and the smoldering crater in Pennsylvania.

I will. And when I see an airplane flying, I remember when I didn't see airplanes flying. As flawed as we are, I know I hit the lucky sperm club lottery to be who I am, where I am, when I am. I'm proud to be an American.