~johnms88

After every ''victory'' you have more enemies.

~Jeanette Winterson



As the anniversary of September 11th rolls around for the fifth time on monday, you start to think about the impact that day had on you and the lives of the people around you. Everyone remembers where they were that day...what they were doing, what they were wearing...who, what, when, where can be answered easily by all. The main question people still have trouble answering is "why?". Why do peeple resort to violence, why wasnt an event like this stopped, why...why...why. To feel secure after events like this takes a lot of time..it takes help of friends and family and everyone aorund you. My sociology professor was saying today that in the days after 9/11, everywhere you went people seemed to be nicer to you. People were always polite and didnt get mad easily. They were understanding. Flags went up everywhere, ribbons, memorials. People started to band together to form one, to get each other through it. In the days following 9/11, my favorite musician John Mayer posted his thoughts on his website. He puts his life in perspective for everyone to read. I feel like most should be able to somewhat relate to what he says so here it is:

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As I watch what must be my 25th hour of television coverage of the terror attacks on our country, I can only feel that our own English language has failed us in our ability to convey how we're feeling. I wish there was an upper tier of vocabulary that, as young children, we were taught but taught never to speak, so that we could express ourselves at a time like this.

"Tragedy", "Lost", "Devastating", "Condolences", "Hearts go out" - They feel like throwing punches under water. They simply cannot make impact the way we want them to. Forgive the songwriter in me for wanting to try in my own way. This is not a holistic view of this tragedy, but only a few perspectives on this event that has exceeded even our collective ability to fathom.

We live in two worlds at once. The big world and the little world. I'm sorry to say that we've (myself included) been infinitely more interested and concerned about our own little worlds. OUR vehicles, OUR money, OUR personal portable bottled water supply, OUR communication devices. We are entirely self-governed people working within a larger framework that we've only really been exposed to while flipping through OUR satellite TV channels, looking for the perfect entertainment to satisfy us in our little world. That is absolutely not to be condemned. It's our simple human nature.

It is the pursuit of comfort, not happiness. I think we're all slowly waking up to the fact that comfort as we know it will never be the same. It's like being grounded times a thousand.

There is a relative bright side to this. We have actually unzipped the seam on our little worlds wide enough to climb out and make sure others are okay. Many of us are meeting each other for the first time, and in the process of looking behind us at the deflating bubbles we've stepped out of, we have become astounded at how small and suffocating they really were. The air outside, though filled with dust and debris, is in some ways, infinitely more fresh than any we've breathed in our little worlds. Today we are giving knowing glances to strangers we gave only the middle finger to while driving in our little worlds on wheels last week. Last week. A lifetime ago. Last week, when we thought it was okay to say "Fuck you, buddy!" to a stranger, as long as we said "buddy". That is the most beautiful irony I can think of. May our collective short attention spans never wind-sweep this sensitivity away!

I think I speak for the Excitebike generation when I say that I don't understand the mechanics of conflict. My brothers and I used to pour the entire plastic box of action figures on the floor in the middle of the living room. We took turns choosing a figure for each of our teams. We may have tried once to re-enact the good vs. evil fight as portrayed in the films or T.V. shows they were based on, but it only took us three good minutes to figure out that it's more fun to throw an action figure party in Castle Grayskull than it is to clash by the leg of the coffee table. Jabba shared bong hits to Han Solo more times than he ordered his capture. I know that my generation derived more pleasure out of making G.I. Joe look like he was taking a fierce dump than snuffing out the enemy. And I'm proud of that. I hope everyone in my generation, and beyond in both directions, is as well.

I may have felt confusion or guilt about this in the last few days, but I am equally proud and blessed to be an artist at this moment. I am able to inspire celebration in people. Sometimes the celebration of loneliness, sometimes the celebration of love, but invariably a celebration.

I will play as many shows in the coming weeks as possible. If I can fly, I will. If I need to drive, I will as well. (I have many cool things in my little world on wheels to make a cross country drive more like a cross country movie and music festival.) I will be there if it's humanly possible. Please know that if, in the coming days, shows are cancelled, that they were only done so because it was completely out of the realm of possibility. I will stand on every stage in every city that I possibly can, and we'll all celebrate together again. I love you all and will see you again very soon.

And always remember (as if we've ever forgotten)
We are Americans, and we are cooler.
-John Mayer

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Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official...

~Theodore Roosevelt

It seems like in the years following the attacks, the nation has been falling away from the patriotism it once had and falling heavily into politics. Left and Right, peopel are using September 11th as a political matter. People need to remember what actually happened. Something so sad, violent, horrible as that should not be used to gain politically. Thats where you cross the line.
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5 years later, my daughter is about to turn 5.
5 years later, I still miss him.
5 years later, it's gettin a little easier.
Forever, I will never forget that he and a lot of other people gave their lives trying to save people.
-Theresa lost her husband on Sept 11th.
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I see all these companies making boat loads of money because of Sept. 11th and the war and it makes me sick. From Halliburton to the companies that make "memorial coins" that sell for 40 bucks on tv. But hey, we live in a capitalist society, why not make money on other peoples downfalls.
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"Am I the only person bothered that ..that now, now it's just a chip. That, it's a chip that you use to try and get ahead. I was watching TV last night, watching the "Big Show" (National Conventions) you know.. and it's like.. a lot of finger pointing and a lot of chips, and it's like.. Alright, talk about if you've gotta talk about it but.. don't forget.. how many reams of paper got washed away with the rain.. that had people's pictures on it and stuff .. and it's like.. Argue about what you've got to argue about but .. leave that.. leave that stuff alone.......the sun.. the sun is shining really really bright in a lot of people's bedrooms where it didn't used to. And.. that's a beautiful thing and it's also a terrible thing and.. and.. it's not a bargaining chip.. Violence, you can talk about guns, policemen, talk about that stuff... it's just not a bargaining chip..."
-John Mayer on Sept. 11
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All I have to say is Dont Forget.




My thoughts go out to the victims and families of September 11, 2001.