9/11, 2007

Since that one fateful day of 9/11 in 2001, New Yorkers gathered at ground zero every year to mourn their loss. Every year, my heart went to them when I heard the relatives of the victims took turns to read the names of the departed. This year, they also showed thousands of photos: images of the burning inferno, the instant of desperate people jumped to their death, the sad eyes of little girl waiting for her daddy who never made it back home…all are too much to bear no matter how many times you see them.

Among the photos, there is one T-shirt saying “No mercy, go to war”, granted it is an impulsive human reaction to a tragedy of this scale. Yet another photo shows a sign of wisdom: “Don’t turn tragedy into war”. Unfortunately, President Bush either took the advice from the T-shirt or the false report of CIA intelligence, he led the country to Iraq war. After over four thousands U.S. soldiers died and roughly six hundred thousand Iraqi civilians perished, Bin Laden is nowhere to be found, and more than ever there are more breeding grounds for suicidal jihad fighters.

Oh, when will they ever learn? Oh, when will they ever learn? (Peter, Paul and Mary)