Another 9/11

I have found myself dreading the acknowledgement that it is again 9/11 for many reasons. Partly because it's a reminder of such a terrible tragedy, though I feel it is necessary to be reminded of those who died that day with a sense of respect and wishes for those left behind, who, because of the media attention, won't be able to pretend today is just another day like any other.
The second reason is because it reminds me of how the Bush administration has used all that suffering for its own benefit and has, as a result, caused twice as many deaths of Americans and an incredible number of civilian deaths. The justification for this atrocity is so beyond my comprehension I decided to just let the numbers speak for themselves.

Number of deaths 9/11 2001 = 2,993
Number of deaths of American soldiers in Iraq as of today = 4,261
Number of Iraqi deaths (mostly civilians) as of today = 101,539

Then how is one to face yet another 9/11? I decided to just allow myself to be reminded of how we felt then, when compassion from others for the violence we had suffered and a deep sense that killing people unjustifiably was an unreasonable and vicious act was the focus. When we couldn't imagine causing those deaths ourselves. Who knew what was to come...

David Letterman's words that day. A rare and raw moment of humanity in american television: