11 September has come and gone, and we really are a different country than we were a year ago. Thanks to a reality check courtesy of (inserted hated foreigner here), we have realised that we are NOT an invincible land of gold. Of course though we kind of flubbed that feeling up when most people held onto their holier-than-anything-non-american state of mind.
I was in Austin yesterday, downtown, evening, walking with some friends. Suddenly, three choppers in formation swoop directly overhead, no higher than most of the buildings around us (pretty damn low). Of course everybody in the street just kind of stared, an uneasy mix of excitement, curiosity, and fear...it wasnt somethign you see everyday.

Unless of course you live in the middle east.

So are we on the verge of war? Some people think so, even some politicians think so. Clinton I know thinks we should "turn up the heat" (you should of seen him say this, he did some pretty neat hand gestures when he did, looked like a double titty twister! oh Billy boy...). But whats REALLY going to happen? Is that as much a question of "what" as it is "when"? I don't know but I have a point to make.
If you beat your dog, he goes crazy and flips out or just kind of keeps an uneasy quiet. If you beat your kids, they could very well go crazy and will most likely turn out violent themselves. If you beat an entire people, if people are brought up living in constant fear of landmines, tanks and air raids, if people are fed a steady diet of fear for their entire lives, they will themselves be either disturbingly reserved or overly violent. It's at this point when a couple of them flip and fly a few airplanes into a big red bullseye of hatred, almost just to act out, to make any sort of impact. We weren't ready then, and I still dont think we are ready now.
America has a habit of shitting on people and then walking away. Alot of people know this, and alot of people have a fucked view of 'justice'. Before you remind yourself of our invincibility, realise how there are no 'rules' to this game. There is no going "tit for tat with any mother fucker talking this shit, that shit" (thank you for the quote, mr. shady). Its ball in hand from here on out and I suppose the next move just depends on who you think scratched last September.