On September 10th, 2001, I moved to Northern Virginia. I was a few months out of college and unemployed, looking for a job in computers, and some friends were renting a place in Fairfax, so I went along with them. I brought a bed and some odds and ends. On the 11th, I was heading back to my parents’ to pick up more stuff. I had arranged with a friend to help me load my truck. I had just left the house when I heard from Howard Stern about the WTC towers. At first I thought it was a joke until the WHFS morning show confirmed it. My roommates were both off at work, and we didn’t have a landline, and of course my cell phone wasn’t working because of all the stress on the system. My dad worked in DC at the time, and I had no idea how far he was from the Pentagon. And I couldn’t get a hold of anyone. I finally managed to get through at the pay phone at Wendy’s (Although the calling card I had and rarely used decided not to work. Luckily by that time I had memorized my dad’s calling card number).
It was an interesting welcome to the DC Metro area. And now, five years later, where are we? We’ve destroyed the beauty of much of Washington DC with jersey walls and iron fences. We’ve made flying in and out of the US completely ridiculous. We’ve given our President an excuse to spy illegally on our citizens and to deny basic human rights to prisoners of war because we’re calling them “enemy combatants” instead. The site of the WTC is still a big hole. We haven’t found those responsible for the attack.
It’s been a great five years, huh? I hope this will be the legacy of the Bush administration. They were quick to put a nice bandage on the wound cause by 9/11, and tell everyone that things would be okay. But then they embezzled insurance money for expensive plastic surgery, and accused those who complained of being unpatriotic. Patriotism is not a flag sticker on your car and blindy supporting every action of the President, no matter how misguided or illegal.