Writer’s note: I have invited many of you to Ted’s head for the first time. I try to just give an everyman’s view of the world in an apolitical fashion. You don’t have to agree with me. I would just like you to think. I have been doing this for 15 years.

Revenge Ain’t Sweet …..

9/11 occurred 25 years ago. I can’t do justice to the trauma and heartache it created. I knew 20 people who went down including my cousin’s son who was at his second day of work for Cantor and Fitzgerald. We all have our own thoughts and contemplations about that horrible day that obliterated a clear blue sky. Not only for New York City but for all of us as a nation.

We will never forget. A visit to the  9/11 Memorial is at the same time beautiful and shattering of the senses. We will each do our own mourning. Our first and very plausible reaction was to seek revenge. “Let’s get them bastards.” All good and noble. But I do have to ask where has it gotten us? 

Our emotional demonstration of flags on every corner has waned. It’s rare to see Old Glory anywhere these days except for an occasional unfurling on Memorial or Veterans Day. Will the Stars and Stripes burn bright on Friday? I hope so. 

Revenge is plain and simple an emotional reaction. Eye for an eye. Yet decisions made in a moment of rage are rarely ones.  It feels good but empty. Then of course there is retaliation to the retaliation. It goes on and on. 

We went into Afghanistan to root out the terrorists and did a pretty good job. Then as often happens it became a springboard for other unfinished business. Mission Accomplished becomes ongoing. We blow the crap out of countries but we never thought what to do after that. 

Incredibly the first thing Paul Bremer did after we vanquished the Iraqi army and overran the capital, was fire to all of them including the police.  They made a  hundred bucks a month. They still had guns. There were no WMDs. Yikes! 

This is not Monday morning quarterbacking but questioning if anybody really had their shit together or were we doing things on the fly? It cost us anywhere from $6-8 trillion to get revenge. 

Putin has felt screwed by the fall of the USSR. Never should have happened. He wants revenge so he invades Ukraine. How is that working? China wants to take over Taiwan. This will make up for their “lost century” where nobody respected them. The Israelis have leveled Gaza and doing their best to inhale the West Bank. Of course we want to blow Iran to smithereens. Does anyone see a trend here? Have we really settled things?

This is not to heap scorn but really ask if governments everywhere have done a good job since 9/11. We have had a financial crisis, COVID and now a pretty pervasive debt problem. In many countries, 50%  of the populace hate one another.Rather than cooperation we want to build walls. Every man or woman for themselves. Has hate and revenge abated or just gotten worse?

In WW II we had a very recognizable enemy in the Axis Powers. We had a surrender that was signed and sealed. We rebuilt and thrived. Now we have terror cells and rogue nation in all parts of the world. Warlords and authoritarians have signed all sorts of agreements that they don’t have to live up to. Threats are becoming more and more regular and the fear of big countries is abating. 

When 9/11 happened most of the world was behind us. We were welcomed in foreign countries. We had a common goal across the globe to get back to some sort of normal. The only problem was “normal” wasn’t well defined and elusive. We as a world became petty. Diplomatic snubs and insults showed there was a lot of infighting among the natives. 

Now nationalism is the new vogue. Ironically this will only lead to more revenge. You tariff me, I am going to tariff you. You keep your poor and hungry out of my yard. We don’t want them. The “we” is becoming larger and larger, from the US,Europe and Africa. Kids, I really don’t see how this will lead to a better world for any of us. 

Why should we care? 9/11 brought about a lot of crazy things. The world banking system had to cooperate to keep out terror money. We all exchange intelligence. Unfortunately Russia exchanges with Iran and China but let’s look on the bright side. At least we can monitor and try to control things. But are we facing a common enemy or are we becoming enemies to each other? Is everyone trying to get even in one way or another? 

Okay, where am I going with this mess? For a start we have to be creative in so many aspects from geopolitics to warfare to everyday life. We have shunned former allies to our own detriment. We all have to have some friends. No man is an island. 

We are trying to arm a world with carriers and battleships while they can be taken out by both aerial and sea going drones. We need to  blow up or at least adjust old notions to meet the present. We have declining populations in most modern countries. Who is going to fill the jobs and pay taxes? Let’s be honest. Good luck!

Have we learned anything since 9/11? Probably a little here and a little there. But like everything else, memories are short. New ideas get quelled by the old guard and we look to the past while we are living in a very dynamic present and future. 

It is going to become more and more of a balancing act. Brute force has been shown to have limited results. The world needs states people and not politicians and tsars. Waiting until the next election or overthrow will not get us anywhere. We have got to get real. Or should we just stay in our little Fantasyland, we call whatever country we are living in. Live is good. Why worry?

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids:

The world has spent roughly $250 billion to $350 billion on dedicated airport and commercial aviation security over the past 25 years. Ironically we could probably save money with faster tomagraphic scans and identity checks but then again we might be invading privacy. 

3,000 wonderful people lost their lives at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Shanksville. Approximately 15,000 have been disabled by the cumulative effects of exposure to toxic material. 10,000 of those have died. 

All of this upheaval was created by 19 terrorists. So much payback for so few.

The Islamic State IS has operations in 24 countries today. 20% of terrorist arrests are people under 18. The epicenter of terrorism has shifted from the Middle East to the Central Sahel in northern Africa. which now accounts for over half of all deaths from terrorism.

Both Russia and China have terrorist activity within their borders. 

Researchers  describe revenge as an adaptive mechanism that evolved to solve the problem of deterrence. By punishing those who harm us, even at personal cost, we create a reputation that discourages future aggression.

“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”  Anonymous