Five years ago, I was working 2nd shift at Delphi. I had gone in to work early that day and had not even turned on the TV that morning before I headed over to the plant at 11am. I remember getting in and immediately noticing something was wrong. All of the hourly workers, who were usually jovial and talking while working, were all eerily silent. I noticed there were several radios out at everyone�s work stations which struck me as odd since they were not permitted at work. It wasn�t too long before someone stopped me and asked if I had heard what was going on. �No, I said. What�s up?�
�The World Trade Center has been destroyed.�
I thought he was joking at first. He them proceeded to tell me all that I missed out on that morning. The hijacked airplanes, the Pentagon, United flight 93�. All I could do was wait to get home and turn on the TV. I honestly don�t know if I would even have gone in that day had I seen what was happening before I left the apartment. Everyone at work was on edge- spending more time talking and praying than working. I couldn�t blame them. My role as a supervisor no longer seemed that urgent. Later that evening, the local news reported two large explosions somewhere north of Dayton. Several people left work at that point to check on their families- fearful that the attacks were continuing. About 90 minutes later we all found out that the explosions were actually two fighter jets that had taken off from nearby Wright-Patterson Air force Base and had broken the sound barrier while flying below the usual altitude required for supersonic speed.
When I finally made it home around midnight, I tried calling my friend in NYC who I had just been visiting the previous weekend. All the lines were busy and I couldn�t get through. I sat and watched the TV for about two hours straight, seeing them replay the airliners flying into one tower and then the other over and over again. Replaying the collapse of one tower and then the other over and over again. I had to turn it off. I remember writing an email to the girl I was seeing at the time. I wrote about how the �United� States was going to be more �united� than anyone in our generation had ever seen, and that whoever had perpetrated this has just stumbled upon and awoken a sleeping bear. That through all of our everyday petty bickering, we were about to witness a clarity of vision and determination we scarcely see in this word anymore, and that we would see more acts of kindness, selflessness and goodness than we ever thought possible�

I spent a lot of time thinking back to that day this past weekend and realized how right� and how wrong I had been. The world had truly rallied around our suffering. Countries who had long regarded us with contempt were offering assistance and condolence. Our government halted the petty, partisan bickering and suddenly began working together toward a common goal. Everything suddenly gained new perspective. In those respects, I was right. I was truly proud to be American for the first time in my life. And then in what seemed like a blink of the eye, everything changed again. Our solidarity became twisted into coercion. Disagreement was deemed treason. The Republicans had deftly turned the horror of Sept 11th into a campaign slogan. The hurt and fear in everyone�s hearts and minds was packaged into a reelection platform for the GOP and everyone bought it. We shifted our focus to Iraq. They were the enemy. They were responsible. And if you didn�t agree, you were helping the terrorists. Voting against the war in Iraq became political suicide. Everyone from Colin Powell to Condoleezza Rice to Dick Cheney went on TV warning us of impending Mushroom Clouds, Dirty Bombs and biological warfare. Before we knew it, this country was frothing at the mouth for Saddam Hussein�s head on a platter. Osama Bin Laden was pushed to the back burner and the back page. We invaded. Bush landed on an aircraft carrier to declare �Mission Accomplished.� And he was right- the mission was accomplished. Bush and the GOP had successfully exploited Sept 11th to accomplish a foreign policy initiative so reckless, careless and full of hubris that had it not been for the collective hunger for vengeance this country was feeling, would never have made it through Congress.
Civil liberties were no longer important. Let the government spy on me if it will help me sleep better at night. Need access to my phone records? Hospital records? Library records? Sure thing if you think it will keep our ports safe. As the next election season lurched closer, we had yellow and orange alerts and were told to duct tape our windows shut. Miraculously, the terror threats all went away as soon Nov 2nd came and went. The Dixie Chicks were labeled a public enemy because they had the audacity to publicly disagree with the Commander in Chief. Bill Maher was kicked off the air for challenging the labeling of the hijackers as �cowards�. Freedom of speech was a thing of the past. Torture suddenly became acceptable. We have begun trading in the principle values of this country for the illusion of safety. Benjamin Franklin once said, �Anyone who would sacrifice a little freedom for a little security deserves neither.�

So while the events of 9/11 brought out the best of us, it has also brought out the worst. Our national pride was reignited, and then subsequently exploited. The global good will has been thrown away and replaced with never before seen contempt. Our desire to fight terrorism has been miss-focused as to create more. Of the three countries Bush labeled as the �axis of evil�- Iraq, Iran and North Korea, we invaded the only one that had no weapons program. North Korea now has nuclear weapons and Iran is following suit.

I am now, once again, no longer proud to be an American. I am embarrassed. I am ashamed.

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