when will the 9-11 'effect' wear off?

[mopaul]

the horrible event we call 9-11, it literally changed america, and literally changed everything, as they say.

when will the illusion that bush became superman after 9-11 begin to fade?

ever?

[PDittie]

1. It will last until

the next domestic terrorist attack.

[Warpy]

2. and beyond, for the true believers

9/11 gave them all permission to hate, and hate seems to be almost narcotic like in its effect. People are willing to give up everything to hate. Supply them with a target, and they'll oblige you by attacking it.

So far, the extreme right has supplied them with too many targets (Arabs, women, gays, liberals, abortionists, cartoon characters). If they ever narrow it down, we're going to be in big trouble.

[bryant69]

3. That's exactly the point

True believers will believe in Bush forever - but how many of them are there? Are they the majority? I don't even think they are the majority of those supporting Bush right now. As for teh rest of us, if Bush really had the halo he thinks he has, why did his Social Security plan go bust (or at least seems to have gone bust).

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[ultraist]

12. That is EXACTLY what hate induces !

A narcotic like effect. A strong emotional reaction sets off a big endorphin rush and it IS addictive.

I recently read a neuropsych article about how religions/cults use rituals to kick off endorphin rushes to get people addicted. Early societies used dancing, chanting, and singing to induce a trance like state and when they peaked, they heard the spirits. It's the same dynamic whether it's a pink cloud or rage state.

[iconoclastNYC]

4. When the OPEC turns off the oil spigot.

Bush and his toadies can strut around all they want but the world has a veto over the USA and it's oil. Now that they have the EURO they can pull it at will. The CHINESE can stop buying our treasuries and buy the oil that the USA would normally take.

Bush is uniting the world against us and oil is the world's silver bullet to take him down.

Just imagine suburbanites not being able to get to thier jobs...it'd be so much worse then in the 70s oil crisis.

I'm not sure how the Democrats coudl effectively leverage it tho. THe right wing echo chamber would go into overdrive and probably blame Clinton for not having an energy policy.

[Mich Otter]

6. oil is the world's silver bullet to take him down

I beg to differ. The oil won't be the cause of Bush's departure. The dependence on oil will be the cause of the decline of America.

[raccoon]

10. Silver bullet, hmmmm--

you know what creature you need a silver bullet to bring down!

[Mich Otter]

5. Long Memories

The attacks of September 11 will be remembered and referred to long after we are all dead. Americans still "Remember the Alamo" and remember "Pearl Harbor". All of these are going to be brought up by any politician with an agenda to push.

[DorianGreene]

7. Never, it is part of the zeitgeist

By simply posting this you are participating in the 9-11 'effect'. had it never occured, you would never have posted this, and the debate over its relevance to poltics would be non-existent.

I think the 9-11 effect is now part of teh American experince, much like the Pearl harbor effect, or the Civil War effect.

get used to it, because it was a defining moment for the US.

[ultraist]

13. There is the 9-11 effect

And then there is the "Bush is a hero" effect. Two different dynamics. One is long lasting and the other is temporary.

The 9-11 event was a defining moment in our history but the "Bush is a hero" effect is temporary. Over time, the truth will come out and people will not be afraid to speak it. Bush will be noted as the President who did nothing to stop it and sat dazed when it occured.

People are still wrapped up in the fear of the experience, but as the next generation comes to define it, Bush will no longer be the "hero."

side note: If my state used a rebel flag in it's state flag, I would refuse to diplay it.

[DorianGreene]

15. Point taken

But that's you and this is me. Ain't too many of us here, anyhow and I'm proud of where I'm from, and if you have an issue with it have the mods remove it as an avatar.

[CrispyQ]

8. When they can no longer afford to go to the mall

& buy their stupid, mindless crap.

[grumpy old fart]

9. Not until we have leaders with the guts to put it in perspective....

It was horrible, terrible, awful. But put in the perspective of the costs of war, human and otherwise, of genocide taking place, unabated, in Africa, etc. it's not all that. Other than having to deal with the horrible after effects wrought by Bush's total mishandling of world events post 9/11, what has really changed for the average American?
The event itself could have been a great opportunity for uniting the world in a loving effort to combat the sources of hate. Instead, * chose to take this opportunity of a generation and trash the USA and the world in an orgy of fear and hate.

[T Wolf]

11. Until (if) a Democrat is ever elected President again.

Then, the pukes will go back to their "gubment is the enemy" mindset.

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. In the real world, 9/11 had very little effect.

Outside the immediate impact on the persons and companies in the WTC and Pentagon, what actual effect did it have? Did it cause the bursting of the tech bubble? No, that would have happened anyway, no avoiding it. Did it cause the downturn in the economy? No, *'s economic doomsaying was already dragging down Wall Street, and the first round of tax cuts had already begun the process of transferring tax money from the middle class to the wealthy. The US economy has weathered far worse blows from hurricanes, earthquakes and floods than that caused by 9/11, but the economy wasn't threatened to it's foundation by these catastrophes.

Was our sense of security threatened as never before? From my perspective, tens of thousands of home-grown religious and political fanatics in their heavily armed compounds, ready to declare war on the government, scare me a whole lot more than foreign born terrorists. I've never had the sense of security that so many say they have lost, and I actually doubt that most Americans ever did. Yeah, a lot of people ran out and bought duct tape and plastic, but a hell of a lot more laughed at those who did.

What 9/11 did was provide a propaganda tool to the PNAC, their wished for 'new Pearl Harbor'. The bought and paid for media pushed the fascist agenda, allowing them to, in their words, 'create their own reality'. It was not 9/11 that changed America, but the PNAC after 9/11 that changed us.