Switched Off

There are certain times of the year that I keep my television completely switched off. Today is one of them.

• I don't care to see images of 8 years ago splashed all over the place.
  
• I don't much care to hear about "final moments" on the "doomed airlines".
  
• I don't much care to hear heart wrenching stories about Person A that just recovered from *insert deadly disease here*and who was going home to see his *insert long lost relative* here only to snuff it it one of the world's most cowardly, inhumane, and predictable (yes, I said it) acts of violence.
  
• I don't much care to hear stories of "fallen heroes" who were just pawns in an illegal war, who paid with the ultimate sacrifice so government leaders could pat themselves on the back for "getting back at the terrorists" and "preserving American freedoms".
  
• I have no desire to listen to bloated rhetoric about "patriots" when all they're really talking about is "victims".
  
• I have no desire to hear every sentence punctuated with "god bless America". The ridiculous irony of such a phrase makes me just want to throw up. "God bless America". Really? So, where was your sky-fairy when all this happened? Was he wearing a turban and assisting Mohammed Atta and the hijackers? Because, of course, Atta and his posse did it all for Allah, and as any intelligent person knows, God and Allah are one in the same. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all stem from the Abrahamic traditions and all believe in the same god. So, what was it? What was this supposed "blessing" America was receiving on that day? Or was it mereley "god testing us" as I am so fond of hearing? Yes, "testing". "Testing us" in such a manner that most people's remains were never found because they had been obliterated to the point that they turned to dust. "Testing us"in such a way that people chose to jump hundreds of stories to their death, rather than face the horrors inside. "Testing Us" in such a way that in the span of two hours, wives became widows, husbands became widowers, children became orphans, and parents became childless. Ah, but why am I so confused? This is the same benevolent omnipotent prick that would test Abraham by commanding him to kill his son. No wonder everyone thinks he's so "good!". Ugh, and they say Atheists are the crazy ones. Moving on....
  
• And Finally, I have no desire to continue to hear lies, bullshit, and unwarranted justifications for the murder of 3000 people by fundamentalist Muslims and the murder of almost 5000 US servicemen and women and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi men, women and children by fundamentalist Christians (yes, I'm talking about Bush and Co.)

Today should be a day to reflect back on man's inhumanity to man. Not glorify it with flag waving bullshit and young ROTC soldiers marching around thinking that we're the "good guys".

So excuse me while I don't join in in the hair pulling and somber attitudes. Enough is enough. Stop using 9/11 as an excuse for being a sanctimonious prick and start using it to serve as an example of the dangers of tyranny, fanaticism, and greed. Then maybe, just maybe, the human race has a chance......without the assistance of ancient mythologies.

UPDATE: I'm getting some really strange reactions to my post above from people who seem to think that I "don't care" about what happened 8 years ago or that I am dismissing the victims and their families. While I am not one to go back and explain myself, I feel that those who are offended or critical of my piece are not understanding what is being said and why I am saying it. This isn't an issue of "let's forget the past and move on", rather what I wish to see happening is "let's LEARN from the past and move FORWARD". If people have any sort of empathy, they don't need huge glossy still photos and slo-mo clips of the planes flying into the towers to REMEMBER the events of that September morning. As a respect to victims' families, my post above is an outcry against the sensationalism most networks and newspapers plan on capitalizing on today. As a New Yorker, I don't need "reminders" of what happened. It's as clear as day to me as though this was Sept. 12, 2001.

Secondly, I'm getting some flack for being callous and not respecting the way people grieve and cope by lambasting the religious aspect of the day. Ok folks, you know how I feel about religion. I don't mince words and I am certainly not going to change them in this case. The attacks 8 years ago were faith based. Our retaliation was faith based. Our own president at the time alluded to the Iraq war as being a "crusade in the holy land against the infidel". How anyone could find comfort in a god who would want human beings to kill each other over whose spiritual path is the "right" one is mind boggling to me. It makes no sense and I find it ridiculous.

And lastly, do not mistake my unattachment for stoicism. I was and still am deeply affected by the events. I am Switched Off because I can't handle looking at those images. My anger and frustration are my ways of coping with grief, and for that I will not apologize.

I stand by what I wrote above. Enough is enough. Our hands are not clean in this tragedy and, though the actual victims of the events are blameless, it is time for the United States and the administration that was responsible for letting something like this happen, take responsibility and stop playing the victim. The blood of almost 10,000 people is on their hands.