Rethinking reactions to 9/11 December 31, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Civics.add a comment
We’ve been hooked on “The West Wing” for a few weeks now. Often we’ve been binging on several episodes per day. So, we are now into the first discs of season 3. Saw the first episode of that today and it was completely dedicated to 9/11 – starting off with an address from all of the main characters’ actors talking about the bravery of the police forces and firefighters in NYC, donating to responding charities, and explaining that the premier for the season will be an out-of-sequence episode that will tackle related issues. I was mesmerized by the discussions/lectures that the team gave to a visiting group of high school students at the White House. The students were used as the questionners and they expressed a lot of the typical fear and ignorance that was prevalent at the time. I was impressed that the show spent that segment of the storyline completely rebuffing ratial prejudices. There were only two parallel stories in the episode. The cheif of staff had the other one and he was interrogating an Arab-American who works at the White House and whose name popped up on a CIA security breach alias list. I was disappointed not so much with the strife and the blatant profiling. That had to be a storyline if the episode was to explore the painful, realistic reactions of the country at that time. But I was disappointed with the chief of staff’s “apology” after the White House employee was cleared (for umpteenth time in his life, after a faulty accusation based on his background). It was a lame, far-from-elloquent, failed and childish excuse.
I don’t know how soon after 9/11 season 3 premiered. But I hope it was right away and I hope people watching then (or now, for that matter) really take a long, deep, introspective look at their own gut reactions and hopefully avoid the trap of excuses just because of “extraordinary circumstances.”
Moral in summary: (as quoted in the show and taken here from this web site)
- Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Resolutions December 31, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Gibberish, Superfluous musings.add a comment
At dinner the innevitable question came – what will my resolutions be for 2009… Hmm, I think 2008 was all-in-all a pretty good year. I thought I’d just keep the ones from that year, scratch off the 8 and pen-in a 9 on the sheet that’s hanging over my desk at home.
After all, the presidential election was historic, filled the country with hope and pride again. We got through a GRE class and took the test. Everyone in my immediate family still has their health and jobs. I did well on most of my new year’s resolutions. Not to say that it was a tremendous year – not by any stretch. The economic “collapse” comes to mind first and foremost. Friends have lost loved ones, jobs… but friends have also become engaged, married (not the same couple), found jobs, purchased first homes, etc.
It has been a very eventful year. I’d like to think it has been an overall good one. And I also hope the upcoming one will be full of promising successes and new adventures, even if things do continue to get tougher. I know we’ll all re-learn a lot of basics – discipline with our pocketbooks, appreciation for the small things and for the people and animals in our lives first.
I don’t want to get too mushy. So, here’s my 2008 resolutions list and I think I’m translating it all to 2009.
read more – check (even joined goodreads.com this month)
blog more – well… this one needs some more work
apply to grad school – semi-check (got a pretty good step in the right direction – GRE done!)
workout more/be more active/join a STEP class – sort-of-check (we did hit the gym, though we need to do so more often; did go to a couple of STEP classes, but need to do it a regular thing; we played tennis once! it was so much fun! we’ve been to parks and on walks a lot this past summer)
shop less – check-ish (still working on it, but I think there has been a measurable improvement)
save more $ – check (gotta keep up the work, but have dropped the ball on retirement contributions; also should probably get rid of the student loans sometime soon)
visit friends and family more often – can never get too much of this one
live in the moment – needs work, but I’m getting there
get into counseling – would be nice… but there’s a reason it’s towards the end of the list
volunteer – tiny-check (did a bit of gardening through work and a few times with my significant half at a candidate’s table for the ‘08 election at a local market; would love to do a lot more)
start a book club – baby steps (see the note about goodreads.com above!)
world map for visitors – idea came from one of Portland’s famous beer festivals, this one was on the river shore… you had to be there; it’s an inside joke/goal
cocktail parties – yeah… we’ll see; we need to move first and may pair these with the book club… so I guess they won’t be so much cocktail parties as informal get-togethers with friends that we host once we are back in the Puget Sound (fingers crossed); call ‘em what you will; we want more friends’ time 
All of these need a ton of work. But I’m motivated. Two weeks off at the end of the year really helped put me at ease and put everything in perspective. I’ll tackle them all. For now, I am going to turn to an unofficial New Year’s Eve tradition of mine – playing Sims2. And later I am going to read “Atlas Shrugged.” Please don’t spoil it for me. It’s such a good book and one of those I’ve meant to read for a while!
Happy New Year! Cheers!
