September 11: Redux

It's hard to believe it's been 7 years since the September 11th tragedy. I call it a tragedy because it's truly tragic how the government and the corporations continue to warp Americans' minds about what really happened. George W. Bush and his cronies in the White House lied to us then, and they continue to lie to us now. We may never know exactly what went on behind closed doors, but we can be certain that what we've been told is a total fabrication - one that has led us into five years of an unjust war, a tarnished national image, and a ruined economy. But hey, we're the good guys, right? That's all that matters, right? Wrong.

It was my sophomore year of high school when it happened. I heard the news on my car ride to school. At first I didn't know what to believe. Could this have been some Wellesian hoax? The idea of our country being attacked was something that had never passed through my mind. Once I got to school and started talking to my friends, only then could I comprehend the gravity of the situation.

Other than the occasional news update, classes went on as if nothing had happened. That afternoon I got home and just put on some Coldplay and tried to forget about everything. This was all before I had become enlightened by the writings of Marx. I was so young and naive...

After a few months I began to wonder if what was being on FAUX NEWS was anywhere even near the truth. I had never been a particular fan of the network, but after September 11th I started to notice just how little "news" they have left in their programming. Sadly, most of my friends continued to absorb every lie that was told to them. I tried to convince them to turn of FAUX NEWS and put on a real news channel, like CNN, but they all were still too shaken up to talk about anything.

Fortunately I could find like-minded individuals on the internet who, like me, had been able to distance themselves from the whole thing for the sake of academic discourse. After participating in a few online conversations I not only could confirm that what FAUX NEWS and the government were telling us were complete lies, but that the truth was far from being uncovered. Why keep this information away from us? Because the government-corporate machine needs to keep us in control, and the best ways to do that are ignorance and fear. We got both.

Now, 7 years later, we still face unanswered questions and FAUX NEWS and the government still feed us lies. What a time to be an American, huh?

I hope that everyone has learned from this whole ordeal just as I have. My condolences (but not prayers, as I am an atheist) go out to the families and individuals who were personally affected by the event. As for the national tragedy, we're all still a part of it, and will continue to be until the truth prevails.