Reflections on 9/11: Smoke and Mirrors, Fear and Loathing

On this tackiest of holidays (Patriot Day? Seriously? This was thought up by adults?), we remember the fallen. Those who died in New York, those who died in Washington.

Why stop there? I honor those who die in Iraq, Afghanistan. But why, even, stop there? Remember those who die in south america, Southeast, west, and central asia. Remember those in africa who have met their end, and remember those who have starved to death in an economically raped post-soviet Russia.

What, besides being human, do all these people have in common? Victims, all, of aggressive United States imperialism.

In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the already impoverished former empire was looted by western business interests, transferring wealth to wall street and a few russian oligarchs who assisted in the financial rape of their own country.

All of southern Asia, from Indonesia to Vietnam to Afghanistan to Iraq, has been bombed either monetarily or physically in the name of "Freedom" (freedom here being a poor euphemism for corporate empire - capitalism on steroids).

And back home, on this day 8 years ago, thousands of people died. According to either of the 2 most rational conspiracy theories (and of course, every theory about the events of that day is some form of conspiracy theory), the root of the cause leading to the attacks is the American corporate empire.

Theory one: The most rational form of the official theory. 19 Islamic extremists took control of 4 airliners and turned them into missiles. Their commander was a former CIA asset, recruited for our proxy war against the USSR in Afghanistan. He had become more disgusted with US foreign policy, the way we waged continual war, both physical and economic, against his Islamic part of the world, and decided to wage a guerrilla war against us. This is the "Blowback" theory.

Theory two: It was a false flag operation conducted by the Bush white house, using various deep-cover elements of the State Department, the Pentagon, and the CIA. It was conducted in order for us to wage war against any nation we wish, to secure resources for our country, or, more specifically, Corporate interests within our country. This is the false-flag theory, and there are many deviations on this central theme, from the crackpot ("The Twin Towers collapsed because of focused high energy weapons! Lasers!" "There WERE no planes hitting the towers - it was a holographic image!" "It was shape-shifting inter-dimensional LIZARDS that ordered the operation!"), to the rational (Dr Steven Jones, in a peer reviewed study, published his findings of active thermitic material in 4 WTC dust samples. Former FBI Translator Sybil Edmunds states that the US still had a working relationship with Osama Bin Laden until September 10th. Many of the members of the 9/11 commission now doubt the voracity of their own report).

So 9/11 happened. Decide what you will about how it happened. And what is the reaction? To continue doing what our country had been doing already for decades. Only faster. Identify a country with resources desired. Try to bribe the country's leadership into selling out the resource at the expense of the population. If that fails, overthrow the leadership or wage war on the country. Demonize them. Make it seem as if they are our enemies.

Win the support of the public by pumping them full of, in the words of Hunter S Thompson, fear and loathing. Obfuscate reality. What we say goes. Love your country, right or wrong. Hate our enemy, though they were our allies but a few years ago. In short, this:




It is only a slight exaggeration of the propaganda thrown in our faces every day. Especially on today.

Our nation, after 9/11, became even more filled with lies, with logical fallacies, with smoke and mirrors. All who oppose world corporate monopoly are enemies of civilization. Terrorists. Barbarians at the gate. A vicious, well-organized enemy from without and within. Freedom-haters. Get behind the empire or get trampled by it.

The distractions abound. And 9/11, be it a genuine attack or, as evidence seems to suggest, a contrived event, is a distraction. In the name of 9/11 and defending us from evil terrorists, we have lost Habeas corpus. The first amendment is only a shadow of it's former self (protesters at the RNC get charged with conspiracy to riot. "Free speech zones." Independent journalists get arrested for covering things from a different perspective) The fourth amendment is so tattered and ignored as to be completely meaningless. Every phone in America may be tapped without warrant. Internal checkpoints, run by the border patrol (under the direction of the DHS), can be set up anywhere within 100 miles of the border. And believe me - having passed through them, they are certainly not set up to stop Mexicans from getting into the country.

I would like to hope that these violations of liberty are getting better under Obama. But the truth is, they're not. Obama voted for the revised FISA bill - so now you can't even sue a telecom company if you have been spied on with their assistance. He has done nothing to repeal the patriot act - after all, he voted for the third edition of it. He closes down guantanomo, but rather than ending torture, he merely outsources it to countries like Egypt, via CIA extraordinary rendition.

The sad truth is that though we have a new face in the White House, an eloquent speaker, a highly intelligent man, there has been precious little policy shift. A focus on health care (which, in the words of Dennis Kucinech, is really insurance care), moving troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, and changing the venue where torture takes place is not change. Not really a shift at all. The same people are still in charge of our country.



Remember those who have fallen at the hands of those who think themselves our masters. Who would destroy us for profit, as they have done with countless other peoples.

Remember, and inform. One day this planet will be ours, by which I mean it will truly be controlled by all people. How we get there I don't know. But the first step is to remember. To inform. To see past the smoke and mirrors put forth by the mainstream media, the Federal Government, and all other entities controlled by powerful corporate interests.

It is my solemn wish that on this day, just one more person will wake up and see that though we are still free, there are those that wish to enslave us for the sake of profit.

If I can be a part of waking up a few people to the truth of corporate imperialism, I know I have made the world a better place.