I turned on the TV to our already established day of mourning. Everyone dressed in black, all news gentle and sad with an undertone of fury. Intros and banners dripping with sentiment. A propaganda blitz of fear, anger, courage, and "grit". But the sadness it getting old. As Clinton would say, "This dog has mange."
What we need is a DAY OF VENGEANCE. Something to get us out of this teary sentimental frustrating day.
On this day we would only praise the administration. (The only way to honor the long ago dead is to pledge unconditional allegiance to our leader.) Our news media would edit news clips and offer comments which skew the facts to make this a day of unity. Every picture of our suffering would be followed by ten of our sucesses.
Any zealot would be proud. Perhaps in the future we could gather in large crowds, chant "never forget, never forget". Millions of Americans, stirred up by false patriotism -"Never forget, Never forget". Burn terrorists in effigy. Make the "do not fly" list the "do not trust" list and require people on the list to wear a green crescent. (How else can you tell a good Muslim from a bad one?)
On the Eve of the Day of Vengeance citizens would be expected to scour suspected neighborhoods, invade mosques, interrogate suspicious-looking characters. We would awake on the morning of September 11, pumped with adrenaline, armed with lists of clues, and hear our leader tell how patriotic we are, that we must use all means to defeat the enemy. (It's legal - he asked his lawyers.)
On the Day of Vengeance our leader would tell us which countries, religions, groups, lifestyles we are expected to hate for the next year. History would be rewritten, posters replace, new orders given to the news media. In a few years we might forget who we are supposed to hate when we chant "We will not forget", but the sense of unity and power will remain.
America will be strong and united again - at least on the Day Of Vengeance.