[Immortal Goat]

Taken from my blog, which, ironically, was just posted minutes before seeing this thread:

The anniversary of the worst hijacking in recent history. Five years ago, the leader of a terrorist organization hijacked more than a few planes. He hijacked the country. He hijacked people's hearts, minds, and their faith. I even admit that I bought into it for a while, too. I went along with the grand facade, until I realized just what had become of the country since that day.

America was destroyed on that day. The country we live in now is not the same one we left behind. That country had its fair share of problems, to be sure, but everything was much happier back then. At least it was to one naive boy of 15. I was already becoming cynical, but at least back then I believed everything would turn out alright. I thought that the war would be a quick one, and our boys would be home soon.

Five fucking years later, and it's still not over. We aren't even in the same goddamned country we started in, and we're still swallowing Bush's bullshit. Homosexuals are being oppressed, Christians are writing their beliefs into law, AND I CAN'T DO A GODDAMNED THING ABOUT IT! When did this happen? WHERE DID MY COUNTRY GO?! Where did the "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave" run off to? In it's place is an angry giant, holding a cross in one hand while pummelling its very citizens into the ground with the other. This isn't freedom. This isn't bravery. It's cowardice.

WHY ARE WE STILL AT WAR? I guess because it's a war of ideas. Ideas can't be killed. Someone will always think a certain way. You kill one follower of an ideal, and three more come to take their place. Which I guess means that neither side will win. The Iraqi terrorists will always feel the way they do, as will the American terrorists.

And I don't want to hear any bullshit about how I'm not "American" becaues I don't "Support the troops". I support them more than any one of those fuckers with the yellow ribbon attatched to their goddamned cars. I WANT THEM TO FUCKING COME HOME SAFE AND SOUND. What more support could I give? What would the soldiers rather have? Would they feel better knowing that you've got a goddamned piece of plastic hanging from their car, or that I, someone they have never met in their lives, wish they could just drop their weapons and come home and live normal lives? I bet any one of them would gladly piss all over your shitty magnet if it meant coming home quicker.

I'm not really sure what brought this on. Maybe it was the fact that I do, in fact, remember the exact moment I heard about the planes hitting the WTC. I remember the images flashing on the screen. I remember the little 15 year old boy watching it happen, not knowing what it all meant, but somehow knowing it would all be alright. Then, the towers collapsed, and so did the naivete of that 15 year old boy. Maybe America hasn't changed at all since that day 5 years ago. All this time I thought that that 15 year old boy was still alive and kicking, and that it was his country that has abandoned him. Maybe, though, it's the other way around. That 15 year old boy is dead, and in his place, a cynical 20 year old young man stands, staring in total awe of the total cluster-fuck that his country has seemingly become.

I would give just about anything to be able to go back and keep that 15 year old boy alive. I would have liked to have had the power to stop what happened. Maybe then, I would still believe that everything is going to be alright. But I don't, and I can't. My brother is joining the army, and I am sick to my stomach about it, because I know that there is a good chance that, after he gets all his training, he'll get shipped over seas, and that he may leave in a uniform, but he may come back in a box, if at all.

Wow, that was a long, depressing rant. I've gotta stop staying up so late. My emotions start to show.

There you have it. The half-asleep ravings of a guy too cynical for his age. Agree or disagree all you want. Just know that there's a big pre-emptive "fuck you" to those of you who think I'm not a goddamned patriot for my beliefs.