If you came here looking for a somber observance of September 11th, 2001, you won’t find it. Sure, I’ve been known to engage in ritual reflection and reflexive sadness on the anniversary, but as royally pissed as I still am at the Islamist bastards who perpetrated the attacks, for me this is a day to remember something else.
I remember the “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001” — short form “USA PATRIOT Act,” what most of us simply call the Patriot Act. That legislation, exploiting widespread fear, licensed the State to conduct unprecedented surveillance of American citizens and ushered in an era of restrictions on movement, travel, commerce and everyday behavior.
Our own government, through the Patriot Act, did more damage to America than a handful of terrorists with box cutters ever could. And we, the People, let it happen.
We did it to ourselves.
Worse, we re-elected the legislators who passed the Patriot Act. We re-elected the president who signed it into law. We granted “the consent of the governed” to sabotage our Liberty, and we continue to be complicit to this day.
And we learned nothing. Less than two decades later, we allowed our betters — who saw that same fear in the eyes of compliant masses — to shut down the whole damned country over a contagion with a survival rate of 99%.
We did inestimable harm to our economy and our culture. As before, our reaction to a “crisis” was far more lethal than the virus itself.
What we permit will continue. It’s about to happen again.
And that, not memorials, is the lasting legacy of Nine-Eleven.
As a People, we’ve shown that we value the illusion of security more than we cherish essential Liberty. We’re steered by our emotions, willing pawns of the State.
It’s been said that “we are not descended from fearful men.” Clearly, however, our children are.
You’re welcome to mark this day as you choose. Remember what you want. If you’re moved to grieve, then by all means grieve. What I remember on September 11th is not what madmen did to us 22 years ago, but what we’ve done to ourselves since.
Our regular veterinarian here, up in Midway, retired recently. That was disappointing, since we’d come to appreciate his plain-spoken manner and his old-school approach to caring for Scout and Dipstick.
The good news is that when he left the profession, he sold his humble practice to a large clinic in Gassville — the place that treated Miss Smudge when she injured her forepaw. So we felt comfortable and confident taking the two older dogs there today for their annual once-overs.
Our happy Heeler stayed behind in the RV while we made the run to western Baxter County. (The Midway clinic is still open under its new management, but Gassville is closer.) Each pup got shots, a nail trim and prescriptions refills.
The same tech who managed Smudge’s treatment cared for our girl Scout and The ‘Stick today. A young female vet paid only a drive-by visit to our exam room.
I said it last time and I’ll say it again — I’m not good with this new way. Not at all. Deb and I know that our dogs will receive excellent care from this clinic, but after leaving today we agreed that we’ll start looking for another good ol’ “country vet,” one who still believes in the value of a relationship with the client.
From there we drove to Mountain Home, where I picked up a stand for my mitre saw and a tarp for cordwood when it gets here. Then we dropped by Orscheln Farm & Home, which is having an inventory-clearance sale in preparation for being “re-branded” as a Tractor Supply.
Lots of good deals. All we could justify was a bag of deer corn.
This was an easy day. Speaking for myself, after flailing against trees and brush over the weekend I needed a recovery day. Rain is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, so I may get another.
Transfer station, feed mill, post office, laundromat, groceries….
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB
On this chalk-gray evening, here’s an image of yesterday’s sunset.