10 Years Later: I Am STILL a Patriot

I've said it before and I will say it until the day I die: I am not an anarchist. I am a patriot.

10 years and a zillion conspiracy theories later, the events of 9-11-2001 remain one of our most horrific national tragedies. It really doesn't matter why it was perpetrated or by whom; the fact that it happened at all is enough to feel those feelings of helplessness, of utter powerlessness all over again.

10 years and a truckload of propaganda later, the significant changes in our laws and culture lead me to side - generally speaking - with conspiracy theorists. The passing of the Patriot Act (which is anything but), the presence of our troops in Afghanistan and other Middle-Eastern countries after the previously purported objectives have been met, the knee-jerk and WAY too late creation of TSA and the Air Marshall programs, and the continuous feeding of paranoia-inducing media hype lead me to believe that those theories are, at least in part, very sadly true.

I HATE thinking that way. I HATE feeling that way. but I cannot avoid it, I cannot deny it, I cannot lay it by the wayside and let it go. I am a patriot.

Did you know that Afghanistan is the largest producer of opium (read heroin) in the world?? Did you know that prior to 9-11, the Taliban (religious leadership) had banned the growing, processing, sales, and distribution of opium, even for medicinal purposes? Did you know that our American troops stand duty guarding poppy fields and protecting the distribution of the fruits thereof????

Most importantly, do you think America, as a whole, would have supported American troops in Afghanistan without the events of 9-11-2001??

I lay awake at night sometimes, wondering: where's the plane that allegedly hit the Pentagon (and coincidentally hit the Pentagon in a newly renovated and practically uninhabited section)?? And asking that, where did Flight 77 go after the transponder was shut down?? Why did the towers collapse the way they did, damaging very little around them (and why did Tower 7 collapse at all, much less so much later)?? Why did Flight 93 crash into an uninhabited field if the "terrorists" were still in control of the plane (meaning, if the "terrorists" were planning to put the plane down "before the passengers broke through the cockpit door, why would they go to the extra trouble of setting down where there would be no collateral damage?) Why wasn't military force mobilized into the danger areas instead of launched and set into holding patterns?

And why do Americans abide with the ever-increasing limitation of our rights using 'terrorism" as an excuse??

I am not an anarchist. I love my country. I wish things were different.