It's the anniversary of 9/11 tomorrow. And, as usual, I have mixed feelings.
So, I have a mix of songs to illustrate.
"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" is a song by country music artist Toby Keith. Rleased in May 2002, it became one of Keith’s most famous songs, largely due to America's response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the subsequent War on Terror.
The song was written following the attacks on 9/11. Keith's father, who was a U.S. Army veteran, had passed away just six months before the attacks, and the song was inspired by both his father's patriotism and the national response to the tragedy. Keith has described it as a reaction to the emotions he felt during that time, expressing anger and pride in America.
And I get it. I think time has dulled what that day, and that time felt like. There was chaos and confusion, and there was anger and grief, panic and pain and a thirst for justice. And vengeance.
And, yeah, the world got ugly. For the next decade. Or more.
If I'm honest, I like this song precisely because it is so defiant and unapologetic, an anthem of American patriotism. Thousands died, and we were going to make those responsible pay, by God. And pay dearly. It's the most primal of responses, but that shouldn't mean that it should be dismissed.
The road to the hell that became the War On Terror was paved with all the good intentions of bringing justice back home.
And, boy, did we fuck all that up.
Mary Chapin Carpenter takes a different approach to recording her thoughts about the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Quoting from her interview with NPR, "Carpenter was inspired to write the song "Grand Central Station" after hearing an interview with an iron worker on the first anniversary of the attacks. The man, one of the first at the scene after the towers fell, worked at Ground Zero for days afterward. The iron worker said that at the end of each shift, he felt impelled to go to the train station so the souls of the victims could follow him.
"He'd find himself just going to Grand Central Station and standing on the platform and thinking whoever wanted to go home could catch the train home," says Carpenter."
