All I can think of on September 11 is the American glorification of fear and the obsession with the destruction that happened to us on that one day - destruction that we have been raining down on others ever since, a thousand-fold.

I am disgusted how the media trots out the corpse of 9-11 every year in order to leer at it and beat on breasts for our losses, and to reignite the fear and hatred of others.

This weird national holiday is meant to arouse some sense of patriotism in me, and yet all I feel is shame and disgust and loss.

So many lives lost in pointless, vengeful warfare; vast freedom lost to paranoia; basic quality of life lost by our Muslim and Sikh (and honestly, anyone brown enough to be assumed "Middle Eastern") brothers and sisters who have to fear being lynched by angry "Patriots," or waylaid in airports for simply being there. [Read the #afterseptember11 hashtag on Twitter for firsthand accounts. Or talk to Leslie.]

This country has poured so much money into perpetual warfare that our infrastructure is crumbling, our education system flailing, our climate imploding, our people dying for lack of basic human rights like clean water, ample food, safe shelter, access to medical care.

The obsessive focus on avenging death and avoiding death (at least, "our" death) has only brought more and more and more death.

The reality that America has co-created since 9-11 is not a worthy tribute of the loss of life that day, nor a tribute to the bravery of the first responders, or those still breathing those memories and losses every day.

Instead of honor, as a country we gave them fear and vengeance and a shrinking meanness of spirit.

That's how we're going to be remembered.

Peace unto the trauma survivors and the loved ones left, today, and to all those involved and unsupported in these endless wars.

I'm so sorry. I'm doing everything I can to change it.

I originally posted this to Facebook on 9/11/2016, and have edited it slightly in 2019 and 2020. The original post was inspired by Jim Wright's essay, which articulated so much of what had been percolating inside of me about September 11.

If you were young or in a different political mindset, or just not following politics closely in 2001, this thread from @mugrimm on Twitter is mindblowing. The GOP has been at their shenanigans and lies for a long, long time.