September 12th America :: Revisited

I wrote this article on September 11th, 2006, and it was published on 'Counterpunch' the following day...

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September 11th, 2001, I remember waking up to the sobering fact that two planes had just crashed into the twin towers. To be honest, I cannot recall if I was actually hung over, although it is not out of the realm of possibility. You see, at the time of the attacks I was living in a small college town, in a house full of guys and school was still out for the summer.

When I shoved open the double doors from my kitchen-converted bedroom, my roommate Walker was sitting on the living room floor, staring at the television. He immediately informed me that planes had crashed into the world trade center and without speaking much more than a few sentences we spent the next hour or so, flipping through the channels in attempts to figure out what was going on. As the fateful morning played out live on our TV screen we would not only be witness to greater tragedy, but we would also begin to speak to each other.

Once the rumors of terrorist involvement began to swirl, I remember insinuating that this horrible event was the perfect thing for Bush and his illegitimate presidency. Walker, who was an All-American rugby player, a championed drinker and a gentlemen of few words, countered with the argument that I was basically a crazy conspiracy nut! Of course, in the coming months I did begin to question if 9/11 was indeed an inside job, however at the time I simply meant that it was a great opportunity for the United States government to do whatever they wanted with foreign and domestic policy.

Maybe, it was my disposition as a history major to immediately view the government in a devious light, or the fact that I had recently read extensively the writings of muck-racking journalist Greg Palast, who covered the fraudulent 2000 US presidential election, or maybe it was simply the fact that ever since anyone can remember I've always been in constant question of authority? No matter what the reason, my quick synopsis of the situation was clearly viewed as ludicrous by my roommate.

For several months after the 11th of September, I began to scour the internet and almost simultaneously remained glued to free-speech radio stations in search of information regarding what our government knew about 9/11 before the attacks and what its ultimate intentions would be in the aftermath. With my bullsh*t filter on high alert I found that I was even watching cable channels and the evening news! It seems that CNN, MSNBC, and FOX had replaced my addiction to ESPN as phrases like "Axis of Evil" and "Homicide Bomber" haunted me in my sleep!

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You can read the rest of this article here: http://www.counterpunch.org/mezmer09122006.html