Why am I more affected by 200-odd firefighters and 70-odd police losing their lives than by the almost inconceivable concept of 10,000-plus civilian deaths?
I mean, those sorts of 10K numbers are the sorts of things that hit Third World countries after earthquakes or floods or monsoons.
The numbers are boggling.
I found myself, unexpectedly, looking forward to a speech by Dubya. This could have been a Presidency-maker or -breaker of a speech. For what it’s worth, I think he did a fine job — not enough to bring me to my feet cheering, or to my knees praying … but enough to be willing to accept him as the President. He gave a speech that a Clinton, or an Elder Bush, or a Carter or Ford would have given.
The future will tell.
That having been said, I disagree that this was all an “attack on freedom,” or because the US is the “brightest beacon of freedom in the world.” This was not an attack on freedom. It was a pursuit of an ideological goal to the exclusion of value of human life. It was an attack on life itself, on civilization. But “freedom” (or lack thereof) doesn’t seem to have had much to do with it.
The other question that came up was that of Evil (with a capital E). Is there Evil in the world? Is there a personification of Evil, driving these sorts of tragic events? Were these Evil people? Or were they misguided people? Was it a matter of fanaticism? Is it just a drive of testosterone, of speech-possessing primates squabbling over their selfish, trivial concerns?
I dunno. I think it was an Evil things. I am more inclined to attribute Evil to actions than to people (that way demonization of ones opponents lies). But I think there was something more meaningful to this than simple territorialism or primate squabbling or a random collection of organic compounds interacting in a destructive fashion.
Believing in a personification of Evil is out of fashion these days, and sometimes I think it’s an easy way to scapegoat one’s actions — “The Devil Made Me Do It.” But I do think there is Evil.
I think today’s efforts stand as proof of that.