I NEVER felt for a moment a spirit of "unity" after 9/11,

[G_j]

That Obama and others mention.

I did feel a great foreboding that the people were turning to their 'worst angels'.

[PVnRT]

1. I did, in the "What the fuck is going on?" sense

And, also, wondering if a plane was heading towards the Sears Tower or the Hancock Building.

[Wait Wut]

32. +1

My brother was working downtown at Citibank (Citicorp, I think it was then). My sister and I were frantic because all the phones were jammed. Once we knew he was okay and on his way home, I sobbed for all the innocent lives. Chicago has always had a love/hate relationship with NY. That day (and months later) there was a definite unity. Our mayor gave an eloquent speech (in Daleyese form) that spoke of that unity.

[Brickbat]

2. Me neither. I remember hoping for one, and thinking it was a great opportunity for one, but I never

felt it.

[redwitch]

3. I did.

Eventually that turned to foreboding, then isolation ( why are they so hellbent on going to war with Iraq) then sadness and depression.

We have lived through quite some interesting times.

[IndyPragmatist]

23. There was a lot of unity....

Bush may have screwed up a lot in his time. But he handled the weeks after 9/11 very well. He did a good job of calming the nation at that time.

There was a huge sense of unity after that. Before 9/11, a lot of Dems were still bitter at Bush for the whole Florida situation. After 9/11, most rational Americans realized that there were more important things than elections. While an election may have a huge impact on our daily lives, seeing thousands of innocent Americans die for no reason was a unifying moment. It made people realize that we are much more alike than we are different. Party politics aside, everyone wanted America to succeed and be safe so that we, and our children, and their children could have the opportunity to grow up in a safe and prosperous nation. I was still young on 9/11, but I was able to feel that unity. Campus changed a lot. Groups that were focused on fighting each other (specifically a pro-choice group and an anti-abortion group) came together after 9/11.

You never want to see any innocent person die, but sometimes these things can have a positive effect. Pearl Harbor brought Americans that were alive for it together for their lifetimes. Sadly, some seem to forget the weeks after 9/11. They remember 9/11 well, but have forgotten what this nation was like after. I think it has the potential to be a unifying moment still, but we are refusing to let it be. It was obvious, when Obama announced that we killed Osama, immediately the talk turned to "Obama did in 2 years what Bush couldn't do in 8" or "Obama used Bush intelligence to get to him". Both are absolutely true. But everyone would rather take the divisive approach and make it a victory for one party or the other.

I know this is off topic. But what I have seen over the last 24 hours has convinced me that there is no hope left for America. Everything has now become "us versus them". It's all about politics. The media, the internet, people in my office, on the street...everyone has made this either a huge accomplishment for Obama or a huge accomplishment for Bush. Very few really believe that this is a victory for America. If we can't even agree on something as obvious as this...something that was a great accomplishment by President Obama, Bush, our military, and everyone involved in the effort to catch Osama...its obvious that the arguing is becoming more important than the subject of the argument. And with our wonderful 2 party system, we will just continue to argue back and forth, attempting to overturn policy from the opposition, and introducing new policy that does little more than just stick it to the other guy. I just find it very, very sad that an American victory has been ripped into a partisan debate by the majority of the people I have crossed paths with in the last day,

[seabeyond]

4. we had the opportunity world wide for a unity across and becoming a better people

or

what bush chose, fear and anger.

i was really sad watching bushco make the choice

[G_j]

10. yes

I agree completely that we had the powerful opportunity to be a better and wiser people/nation!
Bush and the media steered the boat in the other direction, preying on the fear and the desire for revenge and retribution.

[H2O Man]

16. Well said.

[sufrommich]

5. The vast.vast majority of your fellow citizens did. Including me. nt

[JanMichael]

13. Baloney.

There were many, many people who felt like if we said one stinking word about GWB, or the bs jingoistic crap we were forced to listen to, that we would be verbally crucified with that "you hate America" garbage. We couldn't even order freaking french fries.

You cannot, and do not, speak for the "vast majority."

[marions ghost]

22. yeah

when the "freedom fries" crapola took off like wildfire, I knew we were really in for it.

The masses would follow where ever the Bushites led. So over the cliff we went.

[JanMichael]

25. Wife was a bartender then

Having to take "Freedom Fries" orders. It was no joke. Absolutely horrifying what happened to this country within hours of those planes hitting. Somehow the act of not saying the word "French" made the idiots feel like they were accomplishing something. We lost our collective minds that day.

[sufrommich]

24. Why do you assume the spirit of unity would have anything to do

with George Bush? I recall firemen collecting donations for the NYFD on street corners and people lining up at blood banks to give blood. I also recall most people expressing deep sadness for the people of New York and Washington and awe at the bravery of the people on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania and great anger at the thugs who did it.You seem to bristle at the idea that most Americans were indeed very moved by the events,as were most of our neighbors. Why couldn't you order french fries? That makes no sense.

[JanMichael]

26. ahhh how short our memories are.

You remember the events within hours of the attacks. I remember being told THAT EVENING "this is Clinton's fault."

[JHB]

37. Yep. That meme started quick and became a standard talking point...

...to gloss over *'s pronounced lack of attention to counter-terrorism.

[Mrsadkins9399]

43. Remember during the build up to Iraq

When the French were being vilified for not standing with bush? That's when freedom fries started.

[driver8]

40. My sentiments, exactly.

It was quickly apparent that Bush was going to use the events of 9/11 as an excuse to go to war with Iraq. I never felt a sense of unity; it was more a sense of "fear in what was to come".

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PassingFair]

6. Me neither...

I remember the Idiot with his megaphone.



I remember lying in bed, hoping that they wouldn't
bomb the fuck out of Iraq right away, because it
was no secret that they were going to use this act
of terror as an excuse to invade Iraq.

I remember being worried about Pakistan's nukes.

I remember being afraid for innocent people in
the Middle East because psychopaths were in the
White House and they didn't seem to care about
natural consequences.

[peace13]

7. The world did reach out to the US.

They extended hands from every continent. We did fill those hands with *hit in a grateful show of gratitude, however.

[Solly Mack]

8. Me neither.

I thought the Bush administration a bunch of thugs every day before, the day of - and every day after...

Didn't stand with him before/during/after.

Didn't stand with his supporters before/during/after.

I was concerned by what the Bush administration would do in reaction(deliberate word choice) and how they would use it as an excuse.

[MindPilot]

9. We had one; it lasted about four hours.

On the west coast it was gone before most of us got home from work.

[marions ghost]

11. "a spirit of unity"

People need their illusions, their bonding rituals. United in hate is not a strong bond.

Where did that spirit of unity go under Bushco?

[EstimatedProphet]

12. I did, for about the rest of the week

I was at a candlelight vigil on the steps of the capitol. It was really unified that night. A few days later and there was a murder of a Sikh in Virginia because of his traditional dress, and I knew it was over.

[ChoralScholar]

14. yeah, but we all did it together.. :)

I do know what you mean... I was staying at a Red Roof Inn in Irving, Texas - I remember running into a construction worker who was renovating some rooms on the ground floor. We exchanged a look, then he shook his head and said "It just makes you wanna kill somebody, don't it?"

As misanthropic as the comment was, I kinda shared his sentiment.

[Cid_B]

15. All I can say is...

[JanMichael]

17. neither did we

nt

[DenverDad]

18. The "unity" that I recall

came in the form of American pride, but quickly deteriorated into unity against a common enemy. Anyone who didn't appear Christian seemed to be under the umbrella of suspicion. Muslims took the brunt of the abuse, but many couldn't discern Muslims from Hindus or Buddhists or any faith that may have been attired differently.

[mmonk]

19. It actually ended up in creating permanent disunity.

Any unity that was there started fading quickly, especially whenh the lies about Iraq started. For others that knew of the policies of the neoconservative movement, even sooner. This disunity will not cease today, even with the death of noted terrorist bin Laden. It will be over when this generation dies out maybe unless an accounting into all the lies is done publicly.

[H2O Man]

21. Right.

It began in the hours after the tragic events, when Donald Rumsfeld advocated attacking Iraq.

Any conflict/crisis, no matter if it's in the context of an individual or group, brings people to a crossroads. One option offers the opportunity for growth; the other towards (self) destruction. Many people assume that the positive option is "too difficult." Universal law mandates that the wrong choice always is, in the end, far more problematic.

[G_j]

30. .Many people assume that the positive option is "too difficult."

yes that is the meme! Peace is a nice idea, but....

[demmiblue]

20. I did when I saw people across the world coming together to acknowledge our tragedy.

It was a special moment for me. The horror of watching the events as they occurred was very traumatic... knowing that we were in the collective thoughts of millions brought me a little peace.

FWIW, I also consider myself a ten percenter.

[Zorra]

27. I was outraged at what I believed were the machinations of a few

certain soon to be war criminals. That was my immediate gut response.

I have learned to trust my instincts.

So I figured the whole unity thing was primarily a fabrication to get us into a war.

And I was really not happy that so many people fell for it.

Mission Accomplished.

[G_j]

31. gut feeling

yes, that is the way it was for me also. (a terrible feeling)

[The Backlash Cometh]

28. I didn't feel like I was a part of it, but I did feel a unity.

Come to think of it, it didn't have to do with us. It had to do with the way other nations sympathized with us and supported us, like we knew what we were doing. And then Bush fucked it up.

[The Backlash Cometh]

29. deleted for dup.

[edhopper]

33. I felt a great sense on unity

here in New York. We all were in it together. The phrase "Are you okay" was spoken to everyone.
But I did not feel a sense of unity from the rest of the country. Yes there were many people who reached out, but there were also many who continued to shit on New York, and it soon became apparent that Bush would use this tragedy to take this country on a dark path.

[G_j]

45. the unity of spirit among NYers and all Americans who

cared about helping them was a different matter, and not the sense of Unity that Obama seemed to be alluding to. At least that was my impression.

[liberal N proud]

34. I felt fear and worry and it wasn't about terrorism

I knew that we did not have strong leaders and I felt a sens of fear and worry about what they would do to the country, world and us. Bu$h and co. lived up to most of those fears.

[Marblehead]

35. Shows how easy

the American people can be manipulated for the enrichment of the MIC.

[LeftinOH]

36. I recall thinking "this was bound to happen -thanks to years of shitty foreign policy.."

and as for the sense of unity, I was especially distressed at that naitve mentality of "How could this possibly have happened?"

[fifthoffive]

38. I never felt it either

I was angry, sad and confused. I wanted information, and all I got was jingoistic bullying.

[lukasahero]

39. People all over the world bowed their heads in respect

for what happened to this country on that day.

Bush blew it but it was there.

[ensho]

41. me neither

nt

[sibelian]

42. My initial thought was "oh fuck, what bullshit are they going to bring in on the back of this."

But there was no point in saying so at the time.