This diary is shorter than my usual effort, but after watching the ceremony from Ground Zero this morning (and realizing not everyone could) I had to write something of my disgust that Condoleeza Rice was one of the speakers at this sacred event.
From It Affects You
The 9/11 ceremony in New York ended a short while ago. I was under the impression that it was broadcast around the country, but I learned this morning that was not the case, and that it was broadcast only in the NYC area.
The ceremony was little changed from years past. It was simple, somber, highly emotional and respectful. This year, it was brothers and sisters who read the names of those murdered that day.
The ceremony was marred only by the appearance of Condoleeza Rice. I was surprised and angered to see her speak just after the second moment of silence. After 9/11, New Yorkers trusted the Bush administration to do the right thing. It seemed incomprehensible that they wouldn't. But we were betrayed, and they turned 9/11 into the most politicized and exploited large scale tragedy ever on American soil.
September 11, 2001 was reduced to cheap sloganeering, and it was used to forward a political agenda and divide the country. Despite all the pretty words and tough talk, bin Laden is still a free man, and George W. Bush has given terrorists a new recruiting and training ground in Iraq. There are more and better trained terrorists today than four years ago, and as the failed response to Katrina made clear, we are perhaps
less prepared to respond a terrorist attack than we were on that day.
We have been betrayed, 9/11 has been hijacked and all the people Condoleeza Rice spoke in front of today have been used as pawns.
Therefore I found it incredibly disrespectful that Condoleeza "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." Rice would have the gall to show up in New York on this sacred day and "commiserate" with those she helped betray. It felt like a slap across the face.
Next year, stay home. It is quite possibly the very least you can do.
From It Affects You