Tomorrow: a quarter-century since Bloody Tuesday

Like most people old enough on that dismal day in 2001, 11 September, commonly called 9-11, we at The Price of Liberty recall the day clearly. Though working at home in a relatively remote rural location, on a mesa in Southwestern Colorado (the Four Corners), we had fairly good internet service for that day, and good news radio stations. We were able to follow events closely, all things considered, even while working.

For the oldest of us at TPOL, it is very much like the ingrained memories of 22 November 1963, when my father, a high school social studies teacher at a rural Eastern Plains K-12 school, went from classroom to classroom telling teachers and students that Kennedy had been assassinated.

Although the better memories are from 20 July 1969, when the Eagle landed on Luna. A planned and scheduled event but still causing our families, in rural Colorado and West River of South Dakota, to hold our breaths, still recalling the tragedy of Apollo 1, but also the encouragement of the Apollo 8 lunar orbit just seven months earlier, during Christmas vacation from school. (Note: “Christmas vacation” and not “winter break” or “holiday break.”

But for millions and millions of Americans, the events of Bloody Tuesday are unknown except for references in news and opinions, history books, and perhaps the stories of a family member or friend. Especially those who lost someone to that oh-so-preventable tragedy.

And excuse for the modern, hyper-active American police surveillance state.

And the full quarter-century-plus of continuous warfare. Even if The Donald does not call it war. And an excuse for the squandering of trillions of dollars, however increasingly worthless those green pieces of paper have become in that same period. And the shedding of the blood, the killing of hundreds of thousands. No, not hundreds of thousands of Americans, certainly not of American soldiers, airmen, sailors, and Marines. But of hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions. Killed, maimed, wounded, driven to various degrees of mental and physical anguish.

For what? Regardless of what you believe about the origins of the seeming hatred that resulted in 9-11, regardless of precisely who is responsible, what has nearly three decades of warfare resulted in? The witless spending of precious resources, the massive destruction of cities, towns, villages, and uncountable resources, crops, animals, and more. The spilling of life’s blood, around the world.

And the growing destruction of any, if not all, trust in human government. Particularly trust in the government based in the District of Criminals, and every State capital. But also trust in virtually every human government, around the world.

Because the evil-doers (whoever they were) were not punished. Or at least, very few were. A very tiny fraction of those who plotted, planned, facilitated, and instigated the four attacks that “almost Fall” day in 2001. Undoubtedly, most of those who will be held accountable on Judgment Day have either died of something else (including natural causes!), or are still among the living. Unrepentant, justifying their actions in whatever perverted and weird way they can to themselves and those they confide in, and always seeking to do more and more.

Instead, the dead and wounded, the maimed and broken in spirit, have largely been people who were lied to, who were forced to work or pay or facilitate (usually not by their own choice and far from voluntarily) those who committed the atrocities committed. Not just that day, but the months, even years, leading up to that terrible day, and the days, months, and years since then.

It is easy for us, as lovers of liberty and therefore far from supporters (much less lovers) of human government, to blame the people in power (elected, appointed, hired, or power-grabbing parasites) in government for all these things.

But we must also recognize that Americans, Brits, Germans, Russians, Israelis, Arabs, Farsi, and many more people must share some of the responsibility. Why? Because they did not control that evil. The evil of government, of men and women who believe that they have and deserve to have the power to rule over others. We (if we were old enough in 2001) and our parents and grandparents failed to act and teach our children and grandchildren how to live free, how to rein in the parasites, how to keep or at least restore liberty.

We did not, and we are not, pushing back against such evil. And for that, we will be held accountable.

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