20 years of trauma…and it’s not over

I’m sure you remember where you were at 9:37 am on 9/11/01. I know I do. That moment and the hours that followed, the days that the pile smoldered and you could feel retaliation starting to be more mumbled about. As we each were frozen momentarily in our tracks during those horrific fully televised first moments of the planes hitting the towers, then the falling of those towers – straight down every single one of us changed in those moments. A feeling of collective vulnerability first, we had been attacked full on and all we could do was watch as events unfolded, 2997 the eventual fatality count.

Then the rising anger, calls for revenge and off to war we marched our soldiers…Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria..the middle east, thousands of miles away from home and doing a job no one before had been successful at or wanted to do. Britain tried 3 times, lost and went home every time. Russia, they’ve tried twice in recent history, only to pull out and go home. Why did we think we would ever have any more success in a country that does not want western government or influence? Democracy is not for everyone, and evidently it’s not wanted very badly in Afghanistan as we were shown when they dropped their American made weapons and ran from the Taliban.

In the last 20 years we poured buckets of cash into the war against terrorism. Trillions. Yet, here at home our infrastructure is pathetically tattered with no update in the last 50+ years, homelessness is outrageous, people are hungry, unemployed and sick without adequate medical care and our Congress cannot even get a $3.5 trillion dollar infrastructure bill passed. We’ll sit and allow our money to be squandered on needless war but NOT spend any good amount here at home taking care of our own country; improving our own infrastructure, bringing America fully into the 21st century. Yet we will try to nation build in other countries and not peep about the wasted costs.

People line Christopher Street during a gathering of the LGBTQ community and supporters protesting U.S. President Donald Trump’s agenda in Manhattan, New York, U.S., February 4, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Our politicians need a big fat wake up call. Democrats and Republicans alike. Democrats need to stop pussy-footing around and DO THEIR JOBS, discard the filibuster and move on with the business of rebuilding America from it’s neglect and from it’s abuse during the last administration’s time in office.

Republicans need to take a deep, deep look inside their party and DECIDE WHO THE FUCK they are and WHO they represent – oh and try developing an agenda that is not based on lies and cheating American voters, slamming women’s rights, installing inadequate people in all the wrong places, conspiracy theory, and made up bullshit about dems being lizard people. They party looks absolutely FOOLISH.

American citizens have been in a constant state of trauma response for the last 20 years. From the falling of the towers on 9/11/01 to the Texas abortion ban of 2021. We’ve literally been dealing with once crisis after another; one on top of the other, some thing repeatedly through the 20 years. Here we are now, 20 years later just having exited Afghanistan – albeit in not so graceful a fashion for the #1 fighting force in the world – in the midst of a huge heath crisis (covid) that has become a partisan political football. We have 30% of the country acting like children, attacking our capital, refusing vaccines, pushing for authoritarian rule and marshal law and enticing politicians to act like ogres who’s only goal is to end democracy in America.

On a daily basis we have trauma piled on us by what’s going on around us. Mass shootings at grocery stores, movie theaters, concert venues, barbershops, shopping malls, SCHOOLS, work places, and even government buildings. The virus keeps us all in this constant state of trauma limbo…where we are just itching for it to be over and don’t want to get infected! We wear our masks, socially and support President Biden’s 6 point Covid plan AND we fight with the anti-vax, denial and misinformation crowd. We are contending with a party that wants to limit voting rights, end Roe Vs Wade, and deport the Dreamers.

Don’t even get me started on the personal traumas, we’ve all had those as well whether related to what happened 20 years ago or to something totally personal, we all cope with some level of trauma response daily, we’re all still alive and kicking and this is a more difficult part of life in 2021. We can always keep hoping the future grows more calm and becomes more organized for all of our sakes.

((Hugs)) to all. ~ MB

Another trying week…

I enjoy – no thrive – on intelligent and provokative conversation, yet I live alone. I don’t often get the opportunity to engage with anyone on the level that I need, thus I watch several journalists on the news like Rachel Maddow and Brian Tyler Cohen. I need to hear people talking in full sentences and talking intelligently. I understand that these pundits speak primarily on hot-button issues that face us every day and most people don’t understand nor wish to engage in this type of conversation most of the time.

I am glad we are out of Afghanistan. I am a veteran. I have some inside knowlege of our military life and what the forces were going through. The withdrawal from Afghanistan went about as good as any withdrawal could go. Biden did the right thing in sticking to his guns and bringing our troops home. Sure, you can criticize him for timing and how it was executed and what went wrong, yet you also have to give him credit for all that went right.

The lives of 124,000 people were saved and thus will be changed for the better because they were evacuated by our American forces. Yes, there are more that want to leave. My feeling on some is that they KNEW we were scheduled to exit theater at the end of August; they knew this for more than 6 months and could have left the country at any time during that 6 months, but they waited and those Americans that are still in Afghanistan should have been paying attention and got out of there earlier. That’s MY opinion. Our mission was done, we had no reason to continue to deploy our forces to Afghanistan. There was no national interest in doing so and 80% of the American people also wanted to end the war. It went on for 20 grueling years and cost 2, 461 American lives. We eradicated Bin Laden and decimated Al Qaeda.

It’s been such a good thing to watch President Biden act like we expect a president to act. He’s not sitting in his living quarters at the White House tweeting his grievances and acting like a spoiled child – as our last “president” (I use that term loosely with #45) did almost daily for 4 years.

Biden addresses the nation on a regular basis, speaking solidly on many issues facing our country right now and that will be factors in our future. From climate change, women’s rights, war, and the economy to jobs, infrastructure, covid-19, and healthcare as well as foreign policy and human rights issues. Biden doesn’t shy from any of the challenges we face as Americans living in a democratic country, instead he has exhibited his leadership by dealing with the tough issues head on. Right now I believe we are all still shell shocked from the previous administrations blatant disregard for the well-being of America and it’s focus on promoting lies and misinformation, dividing people as a means of controlling and instigating hate crimes, i.e. the resurrection of Jan. 6th. It’s just plain refreshing to see President Biden performing his duties as a true president should, representing American interests first and foremost.

And for the hot-button topic of the week – Texas new abortion restriction law. This new law has been constructed in such a way as to prevent litigation in higher courts. It removes a woman’s right to control her own body and reproductive organs. Politically this hands Democrats a wedge issue to go after women voters, most of whom support a woman’s right to choose and reproductive freedom as well as body atonomy. Republicans scream bloody murder about freedom and individual rights, especially right now during a massive covid outbreak where they refuse to follow science and medical advice and push for no mask mandates, promote misinformation on vaccines and social restrictions – causing the pandemic to linger and grow worse in some states. Fox news is avoiding covering the new Texas “heartbeat” law because they know this is an issue that could drive women voters to the polls in 2022 enmasse. Women are sick and tired of old white men making choices and laws that only control women’s bodies and infringe on their basic human rights. As women increasingly rise in the political world I believe the “old white boy” network will be dismantled. The future is diverse and that diversity will promote much better legislation concerning individual rights and more well thought out laws, not only surrounding women but also encompassing prison reform, judicial reform, health and wellness of all people and a more caring environment across the country.

Final note: World Industrial Wars

“Politicians are very much like prostitutes just more expensive.”

War and arms sales have been the staple provider of billions of dollars funnelled to the Saudi royal family and senior politicians around the world for decades. Swiss bank accounts are full of bribery money. Any politician who wants war probably has money invested in one of many arms manufacturing companies or has connections with other crooked politicians worldwide who are all part of the big arms bribery scheme. It’s such a deeply corrupt situation.

It’s a well researched and investigated fact that many of the arms deals made would NOT happen if it were not for the billions made in bribes by politicians and world leaders. War is now a commodity, the manufacturers depend on these wars to sell their products. So they entice politicians to keep wars going and to keep arms races as high priority. Some country leaders will use national security excuses to keep a perpetual state of war in progress for profits. Industrial war is about murder and slaughter, if people understood and saw what was REALLY happening they would be so repulsed they would make it harder to wage war for these companies and politicians.

It truly IS a world gone mad.

~MB