This is the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. This event profoundly changed America and has been routinely exploited by politicians to wage a war on terror and to create the modern surveillance state we now live in. A direct line can, of course, be drawn back from Trump’s war against Iran to this attack. This war has resulted in more deaths and the expenditure of billions of dollars.
While thousands died in the initial attack on 9/11, thousands more have died over the years due to exposure to the debris and toxins from the destroyed buildings. While Republicans often invoke September 11 to serve their purposes, we should remember that in 2010 they opposed the Zadroga Act. This act provides health monitoring and aid to the first responders, volunteers, and survivors of the September 11 attacks. As would be suspected, although billions had already been spent on the war on terror, Republicans expressed concerns over the cost of helping the heroes they praise when it is advantageous to mention them. In 2015 the act expired and Republicans opposed an extension, although it eventually passed as part of a spending bill. In 2019 comedian Jon Stewart “blasted” lawmakers in a hearing for the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund.
Stewart has been the famous public face of the efforts to help those who survived September 11 but are struggling with health issues caused by the attacks. Appropriately, Stewart also appeared with New York City Mayor Mamdani when he announced that the city would release over 170,000 pages of air quality records via a web portal. As one would expect, it has been alleged that city officials lied about the air quality and thus helped cause the illnesses of many New Yorkers. As one would also expect, the worry was that telling the truth would expose the city to lawsuits.
While it is obviously right to blame the terrorists for the deaths they caused, we must also remember that efforts to help those harmed by the attacks were resisted by Republicans and that people have died because officials in New York lied to them about air quality. These records were concealed across multiple administrations including that of Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg.
It might strike some as ironic that the first Muslim mayor of New York City is the one to release these records and, as one would expect, many Republicans are appealing to Islamophobia and attacking him in particular and other Muslims in general. As an example, in my adopted state of Florida I hear politicians promising to protect us from Sharia Law, presumably by imposing their conception of “Christian” law. But one might wonder, how does the USS Lincoln tie into this?
The carrier USS Lincoln was infamously deployed for nearly nine months, and this was marked by the rusting of the vessel and the suffering of the crew. While war is obviously a difficult time, the crew suffered food shortages, broken plumbing and a lack of basic supplies. This caused, as one would imagine, exhaustion and mental health issues. Pete Hegseth, who had happily gone on a $93 billion dollar spending spree including $7 million for lobsters, followed Trump’s lead and said the reports about the Lincoln were fake or misrepresented. The right-wing media and MAGA also joined in, attacking the sailors. Heroes are only heroes when they are useful for propaganda.
The Lincoln was deployed to launch attacks during Trump’s seemingly endless war on Iran, which has resulted in deaths and cost billions of dollars. The way the crew of the Lincoln was treated mirrors how those harmed by 9/11 were treated and, of course, the billions of dollars burned up in the war on Iran are just another addition to the endless and highly profitable war on terror. Republicans are happy to use the legacy of 9/11 and praise the military when it suits their purposes. They are happy to spend billions on war and a surveillance state (as are Democrats). But they have no love for the heroes when it comes time to care for them and begrudge spending that helps them. And this is part of the terrible legacy of 9/11.
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America truly is in a sorry state. The one country in the world that should be the greatest and should be admired by all, is quickly becoming but a shadow of her former self.
This tech and social media trash is nurturing our basest nature…..fascism, racism, xenophobia, ignorance and ridiculous beliefs. Thank you for your essay.