September 11, 2007.

Six years since America lost its innocence and more than 3,000 lives as the world watched in horror and sympathy.

Six years of fear and hate-mongering and war in the name of God and justice.

Six years of “holy” men quoting scriptures into cameras while paving the path to pursue selfish agendas.

Six years since we began scrambling for answers and strategies and understanding and peace.

Six years of war—of death, destruction, brokenness, and victories that look more like failures.

Six years of lives lost and shattered, innocent and not-so-innocent victims staining the ground with their blood. Families pulled apart, dreams lost, and hopes sunk in a quagmire of questions and misinformation, blind faith and good intentions.

Six years since we used fear and patriotic slogans to undermine our Constitution and justify wire-tapping, invasions of privacy, blacklisting, illegal detentions, torture, cruelty, and a slew of human rights violations.

Some disasters have been averted, but at what cost?

We can’t begin to measure what we’ve lost as a country, what our military families have sacrificed, what our citizens have relinquished in a misguided belief that the world is a better place because of our policies.

On the evening of September 11, 2001, I didn’t see how things could get worse.

Now I do.

September 11, 2007