Every anniversary of 9/11 I have written a letter to the editor about my anger at Bush’s failures both in failing to heed the warnings of an impending attack and on failing to get those responsible for the attack. I send this letter all over the nation. In the past I have had these letters published in New Hampshire and in Time magazine. 9/11 is the chance for New Yorkers to remind America that Bush has failed in every way regarding the 9/11 attacks. Please join me this year in voicing our outrage as witnesses to 9/11. This year my rage is greater than ever because I see such parallels between Bush’s failures regarding 9/11 and his failures regarding Katrina. Please voice your outrage at Bush’s failures.
My letter for this year’s 9/11 anniversary:
Every year as the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on my city approach, I am forced to reflect on that day–the sound of the planes hitting; the shocked faces of thousands of people walking uptown, away from the horror; the ashes of the WTC falling like a light snow over my neighborhood that night; the realization that SOMEONE has just attacked the city I live in. Since that day we have learned the identity of that SOMEONE who perpetrated the attack and we also have learned that America had some warnings of the 9/11 attacks. I have felt rage at Bush and the Republicans for their failure to heed those warnings and for their failure to capture Osama bin Laden. That rage continues to this year, the fourth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with the Bush administration never having admitted their failure to heed the warnings and still failing to get the people responsible for the attacks.
This year is different. This year my rage at the Bush administration for its failures regarding the 9/11 attacks is actually overshadowed by a new rage. Before 9/11 we knew attacks were planned, but we didn’t know when. With hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration had not only warnings of what would happen if a category 3 or higher hurricane hit near New Orleans, but they also had every weather channel in the nation tracking Katrina as it headed right for Louisiana and Mississippi. This time, Bush knew exactly when disaster was going to hit America. And he still failed to do anything. I was amazed at his lack of leadership after 9/11, but after Katrina hit, he was even worse, continuing to enjoy a vacation as thousands of Americans died and suffered. Furthermore, Bush again is refusing to take responsibility for his failures to be prepared. Bush and the Republicans cut funding for repairing the New Orleans levees, an act that is directly responsible for most of the flooding of New Orleans. They need to admit their mistakes! Their failure to heed warnings and admit mistakes killed Americans on 9/11 and killed Americans in New Orleans.
On this anniversary of 9/11 I am faced more than ever with the realization that the failures of Bush and the Republicans is destroying America. My memories of the 9/11 attacks mixed with the images of the citizens of New Orleans, left to starve and die by a callous government bring me to a level of rage I have seldom felt. Mr. Bush: your incompetence is killing America and I hate you for it.
