• 9 years later, many 9/11 questions unanswered • Kaua‘i to be 1 huge, coastal town? • He’ll probably not vote 9 years later, many 9/11 questions unanswered The ninth anniversary of this generation’s great tragedy is near and I
• 9 years later, many 9/11 questions unanswered
• Kaua‘i to be 1 huge, coastal town? •
He’ll probably not vote
9 years later, many 9/11 questions unanswered
The ninth anniversary of this generation’s great tragedy is near and I wonder if others have lingering unanswered questions or feel the same intensified eerie discomfort, a sort of seasonal psychological influenza set off by media blitz — not only for the unforgettably brutal acts of 9-11 themselves but the cumulative response to the attacks now still weaving among our American consciousness and legacy never quite dormant in mind nor broadcast. Maybe my yearly heightened neurosis comes not entirely from the act and response, but the gloomy absence of answers for too many important questions.
How can I describe my feelings during our second week of September? As a patriot, I would describe it as the opposite way I feel every July 4th; as a spiritual person, the opposite way I feel as a family man around the holidays of Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas: shameful and maddened.
In dissent a detractor might label this description wrong-headed or weak-kneed, actually unpatriotic or spiritless, swindled into an inappropriate latent depression or some other obnoxious thing conjured by a favored talking-head pundit — maybe maligned by broadcasts a leftist sucker’s sadness with a side of anti-establishment anger or even right-wing constitutional constructionists cacophony bellowed behind a studio desk or pontificating prose on high the pulpit before a powerful Lincoln Memorial.
No, then again none of this altogether quite squares with the event of our most horrific attack and its aftermath and my own feelings. I am certain that I am not alone. Any way you slice it, regardless your program, it ain’t a great time o’ year.
But why? Aren’t things better?
Has not the response of this great nation in what is shaping up in our TV land as an “age of terrorism” brought any kind of redemption and satisfaction to its prideful, watchful citizens? This is what my mainstream media seems to be telling me especially at election time.
By goodness, the U.S. said we were going to topple Saddam’s Iraq, perpetrator in 9-11, and we did just that and now our brave fighting forces are home to celebrate jobs well-done. That’s what the umpteenth media authority just said. We won for crying out loud and that particular faction of the Evil Empire is defeated. My AM radio just blurted that out loud and clear. My Internet news headline tells me The Patriot Acts among others are making me safer than ever. Mr. Bush started Iraq like he said he would and Mr. Obama finished Iraq like he said he would. The pundits are backing their men and they sound convincing, don’t they?
Isn’t this a reason to feel okay? But wait…
Weren’t we right on the tail of Bin Laden? Where were the weapons of mass destruction? How did World Trade Center Building #7 collapse in its own footprint? None of the four airliners’ black boxes were found? Twenty-five years ago Hussein, Bin Laden and the Taliban were U.S. allies? Mass stock “put options” were placed on American Airlines, United and Morgan Stanley prior to the attack? NORAD was ordered to stand down? Why did the military lie about the death of Pat Tillman?
That’s off the top of my head just for starters.
Still, what wrenches my gut and rings my head each September 11 are the many more unanswered questions that even those with the largest readerships, slickest sound-bite spiels and highest Neilson ratings seem to perpetually avoid.
Rolf Bieber, Kapa‘a
Kaua‘i to be 1 huge, coastal town?
I can just see it now: The Garden Island of Kaua‘i will be transformed to ONE gigantic suburban neighborhood!
Communities will merge as the delineation between Kekaha and Waimea disappears while Hanapepe-Port Allen-‘Ele‘ele moves towards Kalaheo on one end and towards Kaumakani-Makaweli and Waimea on the other. Koloa is already booming with it’s connection to Po‘ipu and will eventually swallow up ‘Oma‘o and Lawa‘i, and while all this is happening, Lihu‘e will continue to expand as Hanama‘ulu will merge with the outskirts of Waipouli on one end while Puhi will inch its way ever south and west. The North Shore will hold out for awhile so that the rich can maintain a sense of “privacy” in the estates they can afford to build. Nevertheless, we will be able to justify the proliferation of housing developments to fulfill the dream of home ownership to anyone wanting to live in Paradise! From the coastal seashores to the hillsides and mountaintops, the transformation of scenic vista views to ONE LARGE conglomeration of inter-related neighborhoods will be achieved! The Superferry will be the mode of transportation making it possible for us living here to access anything and everything from island-to-island, including all the big-city amenities we want! We are already beginning Stage 1 of our super highway system! Kaua‘i Community College will become an undergraduate campus. But, what about protecting and preserving our finite resources? There’s no need. We can always rely on imported water in plastic bottles!
Sincerely,
Jose Bulatao Jr., Kekaha
He’ll probably not vote
The online paper had a poll today on which mayoral candidate I would vote for.
I have but one question — will I be given the option of saying “None of the above” or “I abstain?”
If not, then I will not be participating in this election.
Michael Mann, Lihu‘e
