Earlier, I collected a series of 9/11 anniversary reflections from the press and the blogosphere. Many of them were moving but none were particularly novel. By that, I mean that everyone pretty much agreed that the day was horrible, changed a lot of things about the world, and reflected on people who were murdered that day.
ThereÂ’s a different view out there, though, and itÂ’s not just held by Muslim fanatics and our enemies across the globe but by some prominent lefties with large soapboxes.
Andy Rooney explains why the tragedy was really our fault:The disaster on September 11th wasnÂ’t like any of those. It was manmade. Death by design. Some people who hated Americans set out to kill a lot of us and they succeeded
Americans are puzzled over why so many people in the world hate us. We seem so nice to ourselves. They do hate us though. We know that and weÂ’re trying to protect ourselves with more weapons.
We have to do it I suppose but it might be better if we figured out how to behave as a nation in a way that wouldnÂ’t make so many people in the world want to kill us.
Duncan “Atrios” Black, meanwhile, does his best Kos imitation:
But, anyway, just a big hearty fuck you to the White House and the news media who have decided this day is largely a personal narrative about George Bush, a man who was almost entirely absent on that day then had a big giggle before falling asleep early. It isnÂ’t about him, and unless you were in New York or Washington or were close to people who were directly affected, itÂ’s probably not about you either.
Kos himself echoes much the same sentiment, although in the context of personal reflection:
It’s not about me, and it’s certainly not about Bush, who after his famous Pet Goat moment cowardly fled and hid out in Nebraska in fear — the same kind of abject fear they’d spend the next five years selling to the American people.
For me, the worst part of the day was telling my mother, who had called me singing “happy birthday”, to please stop and go turn on the television. It was a jarring moment. She thought I was telling her to stop because I felt too old at 30. In reality, I felt like throwing up because the world was changing overnight, and not for the best.
Aside from the fact that the media views most commemorations of solemn events through the lens of the presidency, given that that officeholder is the de facto Head of State, I know of no one who thinks today is about President Bush. Unless itÂ’s lefties who want to use the occasion to remind is that Osama bin Laden is still on the loose.
This isnÂ’t just the radical fringe of the Angry Left, either. . . .
There's lots more links at the link.