Untied States

Several years ago I was reading an article on Breitbart (because apparently I’m a glutton for punishment), and it spelled United States “Untied States” in THREE separate paragraphs. I laughed and joked, how could anyone take this page seriously? But at this point, I no longer believe it's indicative of an idiot that can't spell, rather it's indicative of an idiot who doesn't understand what these untied states should represent.

For the last 18 years, this day has been flooded with memes, various articles and general commentary centered around a single message: Never Forget.

On its face, it’s a vague, arbitrary and somewhat insulting directive – which, of course, is not the intention of those who express it.

I’m sure every single person currently over the age of 25 remembers that day in varying amounts of detail (unless of course they’ve unfortunately acquired some sort of illness rooted in memory loss.) I was in college at the time, sitting in class at an iMac that would now be considered an ancient relic, whilst my Adobe Illustrator instructor did his best to teach us about vector graphics and anchor points in an almost undecipherable, thick African accent. The guy sitting next to me received a call on his Nokia and excused himself to the hallway to answer, only to return flustered, nervously reporting that the World Trade Center and Pentagon had been ‘bombed’. I was 18 at the time, had not yet been to NYC or DC, and was admittedly terrible with geography and anything government or politics related – so my first thought, concurrent with fear, was “…what are the WTC and Pentagon?” Being that the smart phone as we know it now was still just an idea in Steve Jobs LSD-ridden mind, and the internet/social media was not what it is today, we had far more questions than answers. Adobe Illustrator, along with whichever classes I was supposed to have the rest of that day, were clearly no longer important – so I navigated the panicked hallways, got in my purple Pontiac Grand Am and drove home.

Up until that day I, and most others in our generation (even the one before it) had never experienced an event of this caliber, let alone right in our own backyard. The lack of social media and access to information at your fingertips cultivates a much simpler way of thinking and processing than what younger generations experience today. I spent the 15 minute drive home anxiously glancing at the sky, legitimately fearing more widespread attacks – nothing felt safe. It was incredibly eerie, to say the least. Ultimately, a friend and I climbed out of my bedroom window, onto the roof, and blasted Lee Greenwood on repeat for an hour – and that evening I was glued to the TV as it was really our only source of live information.

We all remember that it happened, and where we were, that’s the easy part; but we have already, years ago, completely forgotten everything else that actually made America great in the hours and days that followed those terrifying moments the morning of September 11, 2001.

That day every person in this nation, regardless of race, religion, politics, orientation, creed and color, was an American – and more importantly a human being. A human being deserving of thought, care, love and attention. The emergency personnel tasked with this immense responsibility did not climb 110 flights of stairs only to profile and ask for documentation papers before aiding the injured or helping them out of the building. They saw humans hurt, in need, scared – and they comforted them. The NYPD and NYFD did not eliminate LGBTQ or transgender members before getting into their vehicles and rushing to the scene. They worked together, as a team, as brothers and sisters to help their fellow human beings. Civilians in the streets were embracing the nearest person to them, complete strangers – frightened, confused – yet taking solace in the fact that they weren’t alone and understanding that they needed to be there for that person, that HUMAN – regardless of who they were or where they came from. All of this can be seen in the raw footage that continues to circulate the interwebs to this day.

THAT is the America that I know, that I was proud of. This nation has taken many missteps, and has a plethora of sordid points and stretches of time in history; but that day showed me all of us are capable of putting humans first, and tapping into compassion and kindness.

But instead, it’s 2019 and we’ve seemingly learned absolutely nothing as a people, and we’ve most definitely fucking forgotten.

We’ve manufactured a real crisis at the border - for votes based on fear and falsities.

We continue to believe terrorism only comes from the outside in, while refusing to implement laws that would prevent the cystic acne-scarred incels from shooting 47 of us in 20 seconds. NEWSFLASH. That is also terrorism, by definition.

We’ve created concentration camps (yes, Dale, that’s exactly what they are) in the USA holding HUMANS in unsanitary, destitute conditions - for votes based on fear and falsities.

We’ve separated THOUSANDS of CHILDREN from their families, most of which are completely lost in the system, been abused and/or have died at the hands of border control - for votes based on fear and falsities.

We’re actively seeking to tighten what constitutes an American citizen, and how you can legally become one, EVEN FOR THOSE IN OUR MILITARY.

We’ve actively sought to legalize firing members of the LGBTQ community simply because it’s against their manager’s religion (here’s a thought, if your religion requires you to hate people, maybe find a new religion OR you don’t get to manage employees?)

We’ve actively sought to NOT include the LGBTQ community in federal protections against discrimination. And to be quite honest, I haven’t a clue as to the purpose of these last two – except just to get closeted Dale all riled up.

We've suggested a Camp David pajama party with the Taliban the week of the anniversary of 9/11.

And yes, Debra, members of law enforcement are still summarily executing black people with zero repercussions.

What in the ever-loving FUCK, America?

As a country, we certainly have difficult issues that need to be addressed – and everyone has a different idea of how to solve them; but absolutely NONE of those solutions should be rooted in pure racism, classism and hate for any human being simply because of who they are.

We shouldn’t need a devastating terrorist attack to feel empathy and care about our neighbors. Our neighbors who have families, friends, want to be healthy, have a livable wage and frankly just LIVE. Just like your dumbass is doing, but with better food.

My intention is not to make the remembrance of this day political, it’s simply to remind everyone that there are PEOPLE in your politics. REAL human beings who are suffering by the constant divisiveness and abhorrent rhetoric bleeding from the anus of the White House.

Be the person you would imagine yourself to be on Liberty street at 10:00am September 11, 2001, surrounded by your fellow Americans watching in horror as those towers crashed to the ground – fearful of what’s to come next.

Would you have turned a blind eye to a crying toddler, covered in dirt and debris, separated from his/her family? Would you have scanned the crowd first for someone who looks like you before consoling them? Would you have asked a hysterical man/woman in distress if they’re gay before comforting each other?

I would hope your answer to all of the above is “of course not.” And the good news is, that’s literally all it takes to understand we can be more as humans, and feel empowered to put a stop to this shitshow. The bad news is, only 4.6 people read this blog.

Source: Getty images/nbcnews.com