911 in 2008 - How has this changed us?

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  • Thread starter Thread starter Ivan Seeking
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the impact of the 9/11 attacks on American society, politics, and values. Participants explore themes of fear, civil liberties, national identity, and the perception of terrorism, with a focus on how these elements have evolved since 2001.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants argue that the 9/11 attacks fundamentally changed the US, leading to a betrayal of core American values through practices like torture and surveillance.
  • Others emphasize the loss of innocent lives in the attacks, questioning whether fear should dictate changes to civil liberties such as the Bill of Rights.
  • A participant suggests that the US has a tendency to forget historical lessons, contrasting it with other nations that hold grudges longer.
  • Some express frustration with the perceived ignorance of Americans regarding foreign policy and the complexities of global conflicts.
  • There are claims that internal divisions exist within the US, highlighting hypocrisy and societal issues among different groups.
  • A later reply questions the notion that other countries remember grievances more than the US, suggesting that the US's youth as a nation contributes to its different perspective.
  • Participants discuss the irony of the US being a melting pot yet facing internal strife among its diverse populations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion features multiple competing views, with no clear consensus on the implications of 9/11 for American society or the nature of its impact on civil liberties and national identity.

Contextual Notes

Participants express various assumptions about the nature of fear, historical memory, and the relationship between national identity and civil rights, which remain unresolved throughout the discussion.

  • #61
LightbulbSun said:
And I never said they were, but to rightfully deny that they hate us is baseless.

It is impossible to judge motives of people none of us have met.

However, 9/11 can be explained much more simply and reasonably by assuming that Al Qaeda only attacked us because we are the protectors of Saudi Arabia. The opinion of many experts is that Bin Laden desires to overthrow the Saudi King (see link below). Occam's razor would seem to favor that explanation over some idea that Al Qaeda would spend millions of dollars to attack us because they don't like us for some undefined reason.

See:

http://www.iasps.org/strategic/pmwbinladen.htm
 
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  • #62
vociferous said:
Just on an interesting sidenote, a lot of Muslims in the Middle East do not actually believe that Al Queada was responsible for 9/11. Conspiracy theories abound, and antisemetic conspiracy theories are some of the most popular. A lot of Muslims believe that MOSSAD was responsible and a lot of Muslims will insist that no Jews showed up to work at the World Trade Center on September 11th.

Conspiracy theories seem to be quite popular in the Muslim world.

They are popular in the US too, even with some people that were fairly highly placed in former Administrations. See: http://www.vdare.com/roberts/070910_911.htm
That fellow was a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (maybe explains the mess the economy is in now).
 
  • #64
So NOW the Republicans don't believe Bush when he says this is a national crisis.

Talk about irony! The boy who cried wolf, indeed.

They had no problem rushing into a needless war. They believed Bush when he insisted that everything is rosey. But now, when we have a real crisis, asking for money is asking too much. So much for patriotism.
 
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  • #65
vociferous said:
A lot of economists seem to agree with him. It is always good to be skeptical, especially of politicians' claims.
A lot of economists cut their teeth on Wall Street and have little appreciation nor understanding of the problems that ordinary citizens face, except in the abstract. When Greenspan and now Bernanke repeatedly cut the prime rate to free up money for Wall Street, did they give a damn about all of us who have saved all our lives only to watch the interest on our savings and money-market accounts turn to dirt? No. They are economists, and they take care of investment banks and speculators with no regard for people who did the right thing and saved for their retirements. They tinker with the market constantly and don't allow it to self-correct so that we can moderate crashes and booms.
 
  • #66
Ivan Seeking said:
So NOW the Republicans don't believe Bush when he says this is a national crisis.

Talk about irony! The boy who cried wolf, indeed.

They had no problem rushing into a needless war. They believed Bush when he insisted that everything is rosey. But now, when we have a real crisis, asking for money is asking too much. So much for patriotism.

Never cry wolf.

(unless it's a real wolf, of course!)
 
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  • #67
Ivan Seeking said:
"Us" could mean in the US, the citizens of another country, or the global community.
...

There was something that caused 911. Maybe, US's (or just humans) own narrow (selfish) interests are leading it to the disaster.

I don't think we can blame US, Bush, terrorists, or anyone else but ourselves.
 
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