Remembering and Mock Outrage

How do I not bring it up? It is a day that should be remembered, and I believe most of us will do just that, but I also don't want to get too maudlin in my remembrances. The moments of silence are wonderful. I think that's the way to handle it. Take a moment and really concentrate on what happened and then move on. I don't mean to be flip. I was watching one of the morning shows today and saw an interview with a man whose wife was killed at the Pentagon. He was there for the unveiling of the memorial. He talked about how he and his son had thrown themselves a "pity party" the other day, but then, despite their sorrow, went back to moving on with their lives. It was heartbreaking to watch, but he made a great point. The Pentagon/Pennsylvania memorial looked odd to me at first until I realized how much I liked the idea of a garden with benches inscribed with the names of the victims. It goes back to my previous point. Anyone can go there, take a few minutes to think, grieve, or remember and then get back to their lives. We all remember the events of that day in our own way, and places like the memorial give us an opportunity to keep those memories private if we choose to. I'm getting really frustrated with politicians who want to use September 11 to question people's patriotism and continue to foster a mentality of fear that most of us can see through anyway. Do any of us really believe that walking through the airport barefoot has made the country safer? Whenever I hear someone using the attacks to further their own agenda I am filled with true outrage.

That's much different than the "mock outrage" that has been on display over the last two days stemming from Barack Obama's "lipstick on a pig" comment. So much for change, huh? This campaign will devolve into one of the worst in a while. It doesn't seem to matter that Obama wasn't referring to Sarah Palin when he made the comment, or that John McCain, as well as thousands of other people have used this phrase. No, all that matters is that his remark contained the words "lipstick" and "pig" and Palin's speech at the RNC contained the word "lipstick" as a punchline. That was enough. Two words that threw so many people into a tizzy. Rational people should be able to discern phrases that are taken out of context and draw rational conclusions, but as we know, when it comes to politics, rational thought is thrown out like a pig's used lipstick.

Watching the Republican response was at times both infuriating and depressing. Can these people really believe that Americans are so dumb that we don't see what's happening? (Apparently so.) Aren't the Republicans the same people who a week ago were telling Democrats not to be so thin skinned about Palin, Giulianni et al's comments at the convention? Don't they realize that the last person to actually put lipstick on a pig was a lonely hog farmer on prom night? While watching some of the more insane diatribes, I was wishing I could pull a "Mike TV" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I would don my best white lab clothes and have myself beamed to the various locales in order to shake some of these people by the shoulders and shout, my spittle buffeting their faces, "We know what you're doing. You don't even believe the line of lipstick wearing pig crap you're spewing. Can't we talk about what really matters?"

In honor of today's anniversary, both candidates pulled all their ads from TV. Thank goodness. The lack of bile being spewed by both sides will at give us at least one day to remember what's really important. I'm going to put mascara on my dogs. Nobody used that in a speech yet have they? Later...Brian