9-11 10 Years of Mindlessness

The upcoming 10th anniversary of the 9-11 catastrophe is, not surprisingly, an occasion in the U.S. to renew the Fear. The Fear has become such an ubiquitous feature of American life many Americans can't even recognize it. Its features include the use of Orwellian language such as "The Patriot Act", "Homeland Security", "WMDs", and of course the ever present "War on Terror". A certain sort of mindlessness has been unleashed in the country exemplified by mindless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, mindless immolation of the constitution and human rights in general, mindless persecution of Muslims, mindless support of Israel, mindless militarism, mindless political organizations such as the Tea Party, and mindless political and social conformity. The "War on Terror" is an amorphous never ending blob that indefinitely perpetuates the National Security State and creates more terrorists than ever existed previously. The smoking ruins of the WTC could now just as easily symbolize the collapse of the American economy, which while not solely caused by 9-11, got a good healthy push over the cliff by the trillion dollar wars and financial irresponsibility of the previous administration and to a large degree continued by the Obama presidency. In this context the death of Osama Bin Laden may prove to be of little consolation to Americans now living in a degraded society for the foreseeable future.