REMEMBERING
As a stand-alone word, it could be mistaken for a surgical procedure, the re-attachment of a body member. On Memorial Day weekend of course, it stands stark. More than ever, with the country in the midst of a seemingly endless and particularly grueling war, it begs one to stop and reflect on all of those who have served, and of those who never came home. Thinking with clarity it is not difficult to understand how we arrived at the unenviable position the country finds itself in now, but over the last couple of weeks, I have noticed an old argument re-ignited.
It may have began a few weeks ago when renegade ex-Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura began appearing on the talk-show circuit, hawking his new book, "Don't Start the Revolution Without Me". Though I have admired him, not just for his service as a Navy Seal, but for his spirited reign over Minnesota and outspoken nature, I found myself listening in disbelief as he explained how the collapse of the Twin Towers on Sept. 11th, 2001, was most likely a government-orchestrated hoax. This grand-standing on the book-tour has led to a temporary resurfacing of the "conspiracy-theory" crowd, that pops up it's tiny head like Puxatawney Phil, chattering away on talk shows all over the country.
Though I have heard it all before, it is always just as fascinating as the first time, hearing seemingly intelligent people prattle on and on with "engineering facts" gathered from other conspiracy-theory websites. Jesse Ventura explained with believable authority how "jet fuel" can't burn hot enough to burn steel. "Propane burns hotter than that, so how come your Coleman stove doesn't melt the cooking grates?" Watching him pose questions like that, he momentarily appears to be half/governor, half/rainman. Like an idiot savant who moments earlier was lucid and normal,and now veers of the logic trail straight into an Oak tree. He explained how the buildings fell at the "speed of gravity", a term that reeks of internet/basement-geek authoring. I thought that the years of wrestling had taken their toll, one too many folding chairs taken on the noggin. Jesse went on to say how he is living "outside Mexico" for about half of the year and how he is "off the grid". I'll go along with the "off-the-grid" part. He is also off the planet.
From those who believe that the planes flown into the Towers that day were holograms, I feel sad. For the legions who cling to such nonsense, that a government that can't ship ice in the right direction in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but managed to orchestrate a hoax that involved every airplane in the country that was airborne, thousands of air-traffic controllers, FBI, CIA, civilians, airport workers, New York City Police and Fire Departments...boy, these people can really keep a secret. Common sense allows me that though those buildings may have been designed to endure an "airplane strike", they were never intended to withstand the impact of a loaded passenger jet, full of fuel and being flown well over normal airspeeds, in excess of 600 mph. Additionally, to have that same trauma occur almost simultaneously to the building right next to it, it is easy for me to imagine the structural failures that allowed both buildings to collapse. At the Pentagon, in Pennsylvania, tragedies all unfolded, and the notion to me that it was perpetrated by our government is so ridiculous, that anyone who believes that goes right into my "friends-in-the-looney-bin" category. You may be intelligent, but there's a large dormant section of brain somewhere in there if you buy into this stuff.
So on this Memorial Day, I choose to reflect on that sobering day and what has transpired since. I'll think about American men and women who are serving overseas. I'll remember my father and the Greatest Generation and their war. Mostly, I'll remember all that they gave so that the rest of us may enjoy the freedom that we do, even when it's just the freedom to be an idiot.
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