Four Years Burnin' Down the Road

I've seen a few flags out on front porches today. One had a yellow ribbon wrapped around it. I pondered the significance of this symbol for a few minutes. The flag is for the memory of 9/11 and the ribbon must have some connection to our troops. Without having a conversation with the homeowner, I assumed that this is a day of reflection for them, marking a moment in time that changed the course of world events. Four years ago we were struggling to find our place with a new president, a new century had just begun.
I can remember flying our flag in the days after 9/11. I can remember the sense of pride I felt as I saw patriotism become a kind of national catharsis. We watched, listened, and waited as one. I confess that when George Bush addressed the rescue workers at Ground Zero through that bullhorn, I felt a righteous sense of what must have been vengeance. I wanted justice. I wanted the bad guys taken care of, and I wanted it in very visceral way. I wanted terror, destruction and death to rain down on those who were responsible for such a cowardly act. Days pass as we await what we will eventually come to refer to as "the war on terror." In those days that there were no airplanes flying overhead, a hush fell over the world as it awaited the eventual consequence for waking the sleeping giant that was the United States.
We invaded Afghanistan. We invaded Iraq. We had bin Laden cornered near Tora Bora. We blew past Iraq's vaunted Republican Guard and laid waste to Baghdad with Shock and Awe. In Saudi Arabia, home to fifteen of the nineteen hijackers, the government has condemned the actions of these terrorists. Saudi Arabia continues to "mercilessly" pursue al Qaida members and other terrorists. The war in Iraq continues. Bin Laden continues to elude our troops, releasing periodic videos to keep the wounds fresh. After nine months on the run, Saddam Hussein is rounded up and eventually turned over to Iraqi custody where he continues to await his trial. 1,852 men and women have died since the United States began what we now refer to as " a global struggle against violent extremism. " George Bush was re-elected. The budget surplus is now a deficit. Spain and now London were the targets of terrorist bombings. The war is simultaneously winding down and four years away from being over, and we're still waiting for that justice - while the terror alert and gas prices remain high.
"We've got God on our side
We're just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear's a powerful thing
It'll turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust"
- Bruce Springsteen