Ten Years After: Commentary and Video–9/11, Another Perspective

By Orin Langelle

Yes, it’s ten years after 9/11.  And this video is not about the twin towers.  I’m not going into any conspiracy theories, nor am I going to wave the flag.  Something terrible happened ten years ago; that’s undeniable.  I was going to write about some of the notable changes that have occurred in those ten years, like the further loss of freedoms, growing fascism, corporations with the rights of people, a surge in racism, workers’ rights denied more and more, the continued pillaging of the Earth, the intensification of climate chaos, plus the withering of the global justice movement in the U.S.  A movement that was vibrant and offered hope to millions who wanted to live in a better world–a movement that still can resurge and is more necessary than ever.

Then I started looking at my past and the beginnings of my involvement in the movement for social change back in the late-60s, and I remembered a rock group called Ten Years After. How appropriate for this 9/11. So I thought about running a video clip from them like “I’d love to change the world.”  It has some great lyrics: “…Tax the rich, feed the poor–Till there are no rich no more…”  Then I started looking at other videos from the late 60s—early 70s and found the one below by Jefferson Airplane.  This video brought me sad memories of that war. Many dead on both sides. Scorched Earth. Agent Orange. Suicides when soldiers returned. Friends’ lives and minds ruined.  With those memories flooding back I realized it would be good to look  further into the past than just ten years and to remember things that happened during the Vietnam War to provide a broader perspective. Could the U.S. war in Indochina, other hostilities including violently backing various dubious governments, and the establishment of U.S. military bases around the globe be some of the reasons “they hate us?”   And let’s not forget that the U.S. military is the largest single emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet.  I hope this video helps jolt us into looking back into history–things that the Tea Party, Republicans, Democrats, corporations etc. want us to forget.  Let’s shake off some of the collective amnesia.

(BTW—in the video one can click the X on the box to get rid the annoying google advert.)

-Orin Langelle is the Co-Director/Strategist for Global Justice Ecology Project

Video cross-posted from utahraptor88