The Decade: What Have We Wrought?

The following chart, in stark terms, reveals to us what we have wrought during the last decade:

In Iraq, Still A Relative – And Deadly – Universe | CommonDreams.org

Nine years after 9/11, and nearing the end of this decade, this causes me to reflect. What began (at least from the point of view of most Americans) with 19 hijackers and 3000 victims, has escalated to hundreds of thousands of combatants and approaching a million innocent lives lost. (I take note -- a fact absent from the chart -- that a majority of those lives lost have been as a direct result of American military action, and not from that of al-Qaeda, terrorists, insurgents, etc). The response was ostensibly directed at exacting revenge against the director of the attacks, along with his organization, allies, and sympathizers. This number, mostly unacknowledged, certainly encompassed a relatively small number of individuals. This response soon exploded into massive military invasions costing billions in dollars. A response exacted upon peoples having nothing to do with the perpetrators of the attack on 9/11, other than possibly sharing a religious affiliation, perhaps a language, or maybe living in the neighborhood. And it continues on, despite rhetoric proclaiming otherwise.

What does this mean? What have we learned? What are the long-term consequences for our country? For our budget deficit, for how we are viewed around the world, or for the very soul of America? For the American Dream? Unfortunately, while what it means for us is inestimable, I fear we have not learned much. Or, at least, we have not learned the right lessons, beyond the aching hearts of the families of lost service members, and the lost hopes of those at home who suffer while our tax dollars are spent on death and destruction abroad. Beyond that, we rarely seem to think about these ongoing wars anymore, let alone discuss them, and would much rather forget about them. But the body counts and budget woes will not allow us to do that completely.

History is unfortunately littered with the carcasses and lost souls of civilizations who wasted themselves on military misadventures (as well as materialistic excess), at the expense of their economic and spiritual health. I hope that we can avoid that fate, and find our way again. I believe that path and inspiration comes may come with a change focus upon our American Dream.