After 9/11 and Katrina
As we approach this, the 5th anniversary of 9/11, I know I will be one of approximately 15 million who decide to blog on this subject. But hey, why not?
My, how our world has changed in the last five years! We live in a completely different kind of place than we used to – a new world, characterized even more by fear, finger pointing, and terror than it was back at the turn of the century.
A few weeks ago, I watched the last half of the movie Independence Day while I was in a hotel room for a conference. I remember the first time I saw it, years ago, and the little tingly feelings I got when I saw the end and how the whole world came together to fight this one common enemy. Borders became meaningless, and the “human spirit” triumphed over all!
This time around, post 9/11, was different. As I watched, I thought to myself, “If that isn’t Hollywood for you? Or maybe some kind of pie-in-the-sky idealism? As if the world could come together like that?”
It seems like, barring aliens descending from the skies and systematically blowing up our world, we’ve experienced the kinds of things that should bring this “human spirit” on. But here we are, on the other side of 9/11 and the tsunami and Katrina, and we’re still in the same boat. The “human spirit” was conquered by the hunger for book and movie deals; sappy sentimental uber-patriotism; the greed of insurance agents and “carpetbaggers;” the mistrust and hatred between the races.
Will we ever learn? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep trying anyway.
