Political PTSD
"The great shock to the American system is realizing that no fortress is inviolate, no wall tall enough and no place really safe. Metal detectors, random searches. No toothpaste in that carry-on. Safety is a useful illusion, as modern—and as vulnerable—as a skyscraper."
That's true, and, I believe, the lasting legacy of the September 11 attacks. It's from this column by Anna Quindlen (of course), and it reminds me of how I felt watching the news those first few nights after the attacks - wondering whether my kids would ever feel safe in the post 9/11 world.
But, despite all the turmoil over the British "mix-a-bombers" of late, over Madrid and anthrax and all the rest, my kids feel remarkably safe. In large part it's because they are insulated from the madness, but it's also because those around them haven't fallen for the fear. We are not - at least not yet - Israel, where safety is really an illusion that can be shattered in an instant. Nor are we Palestinians, left without a home and without hope.
But we are vulnerable to that thinking - that fear, and that way of life. Our posture towards the rest of the world has made us more vulnerable, and that's the way our government wants it. There is a documented disconnect in Israel that allows peaceful people who would never thinking of harming a soul to support the foolish response in Lebanon and to vote for those who perpetrate it. They are shell shocked, victims of both real and political Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
It's been five years since 9/11/2001, so those of us away from the immediate impact have largely forgotten those feelings of fear and vulnerability that came with the attacks. But we are very subject to the political equivalent, and each time we fall victim to it, we give more power to those who only make the real situation worse. They manipulate the facts, grab more power, and try to intimidate those who might offer real solutions.
It's a horrible cycle, but we still have a chance to end it without violence and more bloodshed.
That's true, and, I believe, the lasting legacy of the September 11 attacks. It's from this column by Anna Quindlen (of course), and it reminds me of how I felt watching the news those first few nights after the attacks - wondering whether my kids would ever feel safe in the post 9/11 world.
But, despite all the turmoil over the British "mix-a-bombers" of late, over Madrid and anthrax and all the rest, my kids feel remarkably safe. In large part it's because they are insulated from the madness, but it's also because those around them haven't fallen for the fear. We are not - at least not yet - Israel, where safety is really an illusion that can be shattered in an instant. Nor are we Palestinians, left without a home and without hope.
But we are vulnerable to that thinking - that fear, and that way of life. Our posture towards the rest of the world has made us more vulnerable, and that's the way our government wants it. There is a documented disconnect in Israel that allows peaceful people who would never thinking of harming a soul to support the foolish response in Lebanon and to vote for those who perpetrate it. They are shell shocked, victims of both real and political Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
It's been five years since 9/11/2001, so those of us away from the immediate impact have largely forgotten those feelings of fear and vulnerability that came with the attacks. But we are very subject to the political equivalent, and each time we fall victim to it, we give more power to those who only make the real situation worse. They manipulate the facts, grab more power, and try to intimidate those who might offer real solutions.
It's a horrible cycle, but we still have a chance to end it without violence and more bloodshed.
posted by John at 4:23 PM
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