Selfish Language

There are times when the New York Times really annoys me. In an editorial entitled "Our Unnecessary Insecurity" (February 20, 2005), the author outlines many of the failings of the U.S. government to secure many possible terrorist targets since September 11th. I don’t disagree with the article in premise—though I do think that all the preparation in the world won’t stop determined terrorists—I have to pick a fight with the first two sentences:

"Sept. 11 changed everything," the saying goes. It is striking, however, how much has not changed in the three and a half years since nearly 3,000 people were killed on American soil.

It is amazing to me, shocking and awe-inspiring, that we can be so selfish as to complain about the merciless slaughter of 3,000 people on American soil. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as outraged about September 11th as every American, but this sort of myopic viewpoint makes me want to scream. What about the countless thousands who die every day from hunger? What of the Iraqi citizens dying under American military attacks, only to be written off as "collateral damage"? What about them?

Comments are closed.