Funny thing is, maybe you DID see the most important turning point in history.
I remember watching in awe as Armstrong stepped onto the Lunar surface. I didn't sleep until after the LEM launched from the Moon. In retrospect, it's amusing that with all of the science fiction that had been written before, I don't believe that anyone had predicted that the first steps on the Moon would be watched LIVE by the rest of the people on Earth.
On a down side, I imagine a lot of the folks here were watching live as the World Trade Centre collapsed.
The events of that day set into motion some rather questionable acts by the US administration, de-railing the efforts of the UN, setting up a modern version of the Vichy government in Iraq (I don't count Afghanistan here, since there isn't much left of the former government there), incarceration of prisoners of war in a manner that contravenes the Geneva Conventions, indefinite incarceration of American nationals without due process or even making public their names, all things that could lead to the US being seen by history as the greatest menace to world peace in the 21st century.
I find it interesting, as a side-note, the public reaction of the US president immediately after the attacks two years ago. It makes an interesting contrast to the reactions of King George and Queen Elizabeth after the bombing of Buckingham palace in 1939.
While watching the TV coverage on Sept.11/2001, I expected the President to head immediately back to Washington to present an image of courage and control to a shocked nation. Instead, he ran like a rabbit and hid in a hole until he figured it was safe. By comparison, the King almost immediately made a radio broadcast to reassure the nation, lending his courage to a nation under siege. I'm sure that his actions helped give the British people the resolve to carry on through the attacks that lay ahead, and to survive the years of war.
It's America's loss that they lack a leader who values the welfare of the nation less than his own butt.
-rcv-
I remember watching in awe as Armstrong stepped onto the Lunar surface. I didn't sleep until after the LEM launched from the Moon. In retrospect, it's amusing that with all of the science fiction that had been written before, I don't believe that anyone had predicted that the first steps on the Moon would be watched LIVE by the rest of the people on Earth.
On a down side, I imagine a lot of the folks here were watching live as the World Trade Centre collapsed.
The events of that day set into motion some rather questionable acts by the US administration, de-railing the efforts of the UN, setting up a modern version of the Vichy government in Iraq (I don't count Afghanistan here, since there isn't much left of the former government there), incarceration of prisoners of war in a manner that contravenes the Geneva Conventions, indefinite incarceration of American nationals without due process or even making public their names, all things that could lead to the US being seen by history as the greatest menace to world peace in the 21st century.
I find it interesting, as a side-note, the public reaction of the US president immediately after the attacks two years ago. It makes an interesting contrast to the reactions of King George and Queen Elizabeth after the bombing of Buckingham palace in 1939.
While watching the TV coverage on Sept.11/2001, I expected the President to head immediately back to Washington to present an image of courage and control to a shocked nation. Instead, he ran like a rabbit and hid in a hole until he figured it was safe. By comparison, the King almost immediately made a radio broadcast to reassure the nation, lending his courage to a nation under siege. I'm sure that his actions helped give the British people the resolve to carry on through the attacks that lay ahead, and to survive the years of war.
It's America's loss that they lack a leader who values the welfare of the nation less than his own butt.
-rcv-