Lessons In Cowardice

When we remember September 11th we focus on the unnecessary loss of life. We celebrate the bravery of our Fire Department for doing the unthinkable and running into collapsing megaliths to save lives. Heroism reigned that day in spite of the devastating loss.

But despite the bravery, there is another aspect that we should place our focus on, and it is the resulting cowardice of our elected officials and the people of the United States for giving them a blank check to enact whatever laws they wished in order to "protect" us from future attacks. And in the end it is the people's fault for allowing this to happen. It's is the people's base cowardice. We slobbered all over ourselves and believed that more stringent laws were passed to protect ourselves. Out of September 11th the Patriot Act was passed, warrant-less wire-tapping, the Iraq War, torture, Real ID, suspension of Habeas Corpus. Our cowardice let this happen!

When you remember this day, celebrate the firefighters and mourn the dead. But never forget that so much more was lost and can be lost as a direct action of our own gutless poltroonery. Never give up your liberty!

Most civilization is based on cowardice. It's so easy to civilize based on cowardice. You water down the standards which would lead to bravery. You restrain the will. You regulate the appetites. You fence in the horizons. You make a law for every movement. You deny the existence of chaos. You teach even the children to breathe slowly. You tame.
-The God Emperor of Dune.