Seven

9/11/2008 marks the 7th anniversary of the day America was attacked by terrorists in a new way, and I do think it is still important to remember that day. I have written about it before, and everything I said last year still rings true for me. If you want to read that post, you can find it at

http://apexdbs.blogspot.com/2007/09/911.html

This year of course there are new things, important things, going on. We are once again in an election cycle as we mark this day, but we have years between then and now and some possibility of putting things into another perspective.

One of the things that George Bush and many Republicans like to say about their opponents is that they have a "9/10 mentality." They mean that as a criticism. They whip it out and use it like a credit card. It is their ultimate "put down."

I am glad that John McCain and Barack Obama will be together at the site of the World Trade Center tomorrow. 9/11 is not a Republican holy day. It doesn't belong to any political party. 9/11 is a national tragedy, a terrible memory, a fact and a day filled with tales of brave courage. But above all it is a day for all of us to mark in our own way. It belongs to all of us, all Americans and also to people from all over the world who care.

Whatever 9/11 is, there is one thing it is not. It is not the "Get out of jail free" card George W. Bush has tried to make it. Whenever anyone has tried to hold him or his party accountable since 9/11 or anyone has challenged his policies, the President has pointed at 9/11 and used it as his shield, his crutch, his raison d'etre. As time goes by, and hopefully this year, that strategy will ultimately fail. It is not true that 9/11 justifies any action we want to take or absolves us for any wrong we as a nation commit. We all must come to understand that before the day can really be honored as it should. After 7 years we must stop letting this day be twisted and contorted for personal or political ends, so that we can all mourn it together and then work together to bring those to justice who really attacked us.