NEVER FORGET

I rarely ever think of dark times, simply because I feel it prohibits the soul from moving forward. There is one dark time that I can never forget, not even as I sit typing this entry on a PC keyboard in the cold, Amsterdam, night. I wonder if I still remeber simply because the impact was so massive that I, still, just can't believe it happened. 9/11 was the day that America as a whole became vulnerable, a day that would determine a long course of action that's been considered highly debatable, if not completely incorrect.

I was sitting in my car listening to the radio when suddenly all the music stopped and the news began frantically coming in. I drove to my mother's home and witnessed in horror as the Twin Towers slowly fell. I remebered 1993 and the attempted bombing and thought '' they did it this time, fuckers.'' I remember explaining to my 5 year old boy that the bad people who did that would be caught. The sense of unison hurt and unity that served as a sheet was unlike anything I had ever seen or felt. That day was the day America fell, and there were no answers.

As I saw the many shots of frightened victims falling to their death I remembered tears falling in silence. Our fellow citizens had fallen and lives, countless lives were being affected in a manner that could only be described as horrific. Yes, this was the first time someone decided to walk into our property line and try to make us crumble. I could hear the comparisons to Pearl Harbor, but this was nothing at all like Pearl Harbor. The average citizen had been sent into a panic, and the mighty power was left questioning "What next?''

A presidency in its infancy was tasked with finding the guilty and making them pay. It was during that week that there were no Republicans, no Democrats, just Americans united in one tragedy that affected the entire country, the entire world. The various weeks that followed there was a cry for war, justice, and no face to go after. As the years passed there would be war, a recession, heightened fear, prejudice where there need not be prejudice, and doubt. The US was made to fear an enemy without a face. The theory that 9/11 was an inside job, and the many near tragic, and tragic events that followed would only strengthen the fear.

I'll never forget 9/11 and I'll never forget how that one tragic event served as a showcase for the value of unity in the face of tragedy. It did not matter if you were black, white, atheist, it only mattered that you were willing to stand behind the fallen. Yes, this was a hard time, but it was the kind of time that saw no gray areas, just the colors of unity, and bravery. Try not to remember the doubt, the hate, the tragedy, wars, loss, remeber what you can gain and what makes us a damn great society.

America is no Eutopia, but we live in a world where there is no perfect place. Our society and democracy is ideal in thought and imperfect in practice, but it is still a society worth protecting, and standing up for. 9/11 was a dark time, perhaps the darkest ever, but we managed to see light again, so never forget. Never forget the actions of a few derranged animals do not represent the majority people. Never forget that in the end, even a considerable number of animals do not have enough power to break the one key feature that keeps us up, the spirit of freedom.

WHAT MAY HAPPEN TO JEB IN 2016

So now the big early star of the Republican party seems to be Jeb Bush. I happen to think that given the vocal and highly questionable figures currently in the party's national scene Bush seems to be a perfect choice. Jeb Bush is for the most part reserved and has an approachable manner that really draws people in. Over his eight year tenure as Florida Governor Bush was very effective and stood out as a powerful figure in what was a chaotic national scene. While it seemed like his brother would take the spotlight and eventually he would Jeb would slowly emerge as a figure of a different sort.

Bush was very strong as Governor and he made many improvements while in office. Bush may well find himself short in trying to answer for his role in leading his brother to office and the start of eight tumultuous years in the American national scene. The truth is that it takes one act to completely overshadow everything you did that was good and effective.

For all his approvals for higher education in the state of Florida, funding for libraries, and environmental projects Bush is still largely remembered as a key figure in the election of his brother. If Jeb Bush decides to run in 2016 the only factors that may work for him are a thoroughly ineffective second term for Obama and either Biden or a weaker democrat running against him. Outside of those two scenarios Bush would face a very hard climb up the ladder to the White House.

WHO WINS? WHO CARES?

On November 6th 2012 the country will make a pilgrimage of sorts to the polls. More than likely this will be the closest election since JFK defeated Richard Nixon in 1960 by a margin of 120,000 votes. The difference is that now I seriously doubt that the level of regard for the winner and feeling of true hope will be there.

It doesn't matter if Obama gets re elected or Romney wins because the fact remains that change will not occur over night. Romney will not be able to just shut down PBS and push himself forward because while Republicans have one house Democrats have another. I seriously doubt that the next 4 years will bring about significant change.

For Romney to have a successful time implementing policy he will have to do a complete overhaul of measures going back to Bush and not just Obama. For Obama to have a better second term he will have to adjust a lot domestically in order to have any success. The truth is that economy is cyclical and only changes as the habits of all consumers change. The economy is affected by issues such as military spending but truthfully Military spending only increases during periods of serious conflict and those periods only come around every ten to fifteen years on a serious world scale.

More than likely there will be issues with the voting especially on battleground states that are likely to swing either way. In the end there will be one man at the helm starting with promise, and hope for change but in the end it will be a number of factors that will make that man a significant historical figure. Who will win? Who really cares?