I had to be down in Highlands today for a family function. Since I wasn't at all sure that the Parkway would anything more than a parking lot, I left early to make sure I had enough time to get there. Consequently, since there wasn't nearly as much traffic as I expected, I arrived about an hour early. Now, the Sandy Hook National Recreation area charges to get in between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and, since I only had about 40 minutes to kill, I thought that was excessive. However, as I had made my way down Route 36, I had passed something called the Mount Mitchell Scenic Overlook, which hadn't mentioned anything about fees, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.
Boy, am I glad I did.
First of all, and pay attention 'cause there will be a test afterwards, Mt. Mitchell is the highest point on the Atlantic Seaboard between Maine and the Yucatan. I thought that was pretty cool in and of itself, but when we pulled into the parking area, I could see that it really had a view to offer. From Manhatten on the North (left) to Kennedy Airport on the right (east-distant: close was Sandy Hook itself) a panorama presented itself. I spent about 10 minutes drinking it all in and then I turned to the statue/monument that stood just behind the actual scenic viewing area.
Rather than fumble around, I'm just going to send you here for a description of the memorial. It was for the residents of Monmouth county who had died in the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001. Click the link...you'll see that it is both tasteful yet strangely powerful. As I walked up the timeline walkway, I could see in my mind's eye what had transpired that day. And I want to tell you that I got angry.
I got angry first at the incredibly evil men who had done this heinous, infamous thing. And then I got even more angry at the man who has totally fucked up our response to this crime against humanity and God. In the days that followed the attack on the World Trade Center, 90+percent of the world's population was with us in our grief and anger. When we went after Bin Laden et al in Afghanistan, the world was with us. But then we began to change our message. It wasn't just al-Qaeda that we were fighting--no, somehow an Axis of evil had emerged and Saddam Hussein was one of its principle members. Our government became arrogant and, in many ways, insulting towards anybody who dared question our actions. And, gradually, we began to lose the international support we once enjoyed. Now we are mired in a no-win war in Iraq which we will ultimately find impossible to disengage from with any semblance of honor. Ultimately, we will find ourselves worse off, not better off, for our involvement in this bit of cowboy foriegn relations.
Note: I started this almost a month ago. Since then at least two things have changed: First, the passion ignited by the visit has receded a bit. And, two, I am typing this part sitting on the patio after having had a couply of largish vodka-on-the-rocks, so I am probably not as coherent as I could be. In fact, I'm actually posting this in main to clear my "pending drafts" out of my workspace.
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