Imagine

Don't you ever wonder,
Maybe if things had been slightly different
You could be somebody else
Don't you wonder, maybe...
If you took a left turn instead of taking a right, You could be somebody different
-Dave Matthews Band

 Because I can be quite the downer, I just spent the better part of the last hour going through some emails I have filed away from nine years ago. Well, nine years and a day. There was nothing surprising in the folder. The messages basically cover all the necessary stages, from "What the hell is going on?" to "Are you OK?" to "Payback's gonna be a bitch?" to "Are they really canceling football this weekend?" 

What did strike me though, was some of the remarks at the time about The President. You all remember who was President on 9/11. The guy reading "My Pet Goat" with pee dribbling down his leg. Anyway, the people with whom I was exchanging mass-emails with that day, roughly 50-60 different folks on 3 or 4 different chains, they didn't vote for Bush. Didn't like him. Thought he stole it. Thought he was an idiot. Didn't trust him. Like me. And tens of millions others. 

However, on that day, when Bush was mentioned, it was along the lines of "Well, we have to stand behind President Bush now" or "Bush needs to be strong" or "Pray for the President". Generic platitudes. But positive nonetheless. 

Beyond that, I remember the conversations and the official statements. I remember the attitudes. Bush had a 92% approval rating that week (I wear my badge as a Proud Eight Percenter with honor - but not because I automatically distrusted him. No, he lost me with "Dead or Alive"). I remember how the Patriot Act passed the Senate by a 99-1 margin.

Then I started thinking about two separate, but very similar hypothetical situations. What if the Supreme Court had ruled to allow the votes to be counted, and Al Gore was President that day? Or, what if the attack happened in September 2009 instead, under Barack Obama. (Granted, that's a stretch because the events of 9/11 directly led to Obama's rise). But the point is - if the President during the attacks was a Democrat, would The Heartland, The Deep South, and The Republican Party stand so firmly behind the President in a time of such crisis? 

Sadly I believe -nay, I know - it wouldn't be the case. After 2 FAILED terrorist attacks last winter, Obama was accused of being soft on terrorism. Even though the towers fell on their watch, and even though they grossly and criminally mishandled the response to the attack, for some reason, these chicken-hawks think that they own the copyright on national security. They think they own it on the economy too, and they're track record is equally as disastrous there. So delusions of grandeur seem to be a necessary character trait for aspiring conservative leaders. 

Keep this in mind the next time some asshole like Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin talks about "Restoring" honor or dignity or patriotism - three qualities that they stand in direct opposition to. These people only care about their version of America. They stand behind the President only when it's the guy they voted for. They don't, have never, care about more than the bare minimum amount of Americans: however many it takes to get to 271 Electoral votes and/or House Districts.  

It's a well known, indisputable fact that Bush had a globe's worth of goodwill and unheard of levels of domestic support and he squandered it. But they don't care about that, because they don't care about you, or the globe, or the World Trade Center. Just their psychotic agenda, and nothing more. It's sad that 9 years later, on September 10th (or as it's known in the Giuliani household, "Christmas Eve") that this agenda, despite failing so obviously and in such a visible manner, is not only still breathing, but on the brink of a return. 

A mildly retarded man once said "fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again" 

Not the case.

My 30 Best Albums of the Decade: #10

It's Top 10 time, that arbitrary line of demarkation between good and great. Since form dictates that being #10 is more special than being #11 (which isn't that much more special than #12 for some reason), I'm going to switch it up a bit and go one at a time here. Also, it's easier for me. And that's pretty much been my mantra of the decade: What's easier for me?

#10. The Rising - Bruce Springsteen

No point in beating around the Bush, we know what inspired about half this album: The 9/11 attacks. Does that make it more important when you put it in perspective? Less important? Nah, neither. This is just a damn good album from a damn good singer/songwriter.




Tragedy has inspired song since the beginning of both tragedy and song, so that's nothing new. But what was fresh on "The Rising" was the perspective. Yeah, there was some tracks on there for the metaphorically-challenged like Into the Fire and Empty Sky - and those of us in the area remember My City of Ruins being the lead-in on what seemed like every local news broadcast.

For the most part, however, Springsteen tapped into the local - if not necessarily the bloodthirsty national - mood and the result was practically medicinal. Take the title track for instance, or Worlds Apart, or even the more uplifting tempo of Waiting on a Sunny Day. Exponentially more reassuring and mature than say, shitbag Toby Keith saying "We'll stick a boot in your ass, it's the American Way". And they say folks from NJ lack class (and we can't discount his geographical heritage in the brilliance of this album either).

As the years start to roll on by and perspective sharpens, it's easy to forget that as a country, we jumped straight from tragedy into war - we had about 3 weeks to mourn while our systems were still in shock. Then we were told to shop. Then we were told to buy magnetic ribbons. Then we were told to fall in line. Then we were told to steamroll Dixie Chicks albums. We never got the chance to grieve and we didn't make the time to ask questions or more importantly, seek out the gray areas. We didn't get a chance to seek out solace. But "The Rising" did. It didn't diminish the loss, but it didn't accept the notion that peace would come only from vengeance. Or from shopping.

Bruce is never, ever, going to be confused with Bob Dylan or John Lennon or even Eddie Vedder when it comes to songwriting. He's always been rather transparent - though certainly not "dumb" or oversimplified. But in confusing times, clarity can be a good thing.