17-year (Periodical) Cicadas

Today is almost identical to 9/11/2001 in Chicago: a Tuesday, clear blue sky and pleasant weather. 

An interesting bit from the book The Death of Truth. We have not only demonized each other, we've made ourselves into both terrorists and its victims. 

"The new nihilism is Michael Anton, who became the senior national security official in the Trump Administration, writing an article titled “The Flight 93 Election,“ in which he compared the plight of voters in 2016 to that of the passengers of the doomed airplane that went down on 911 and compared voting for Trump to charging the cockpit. “Charge the cockpit or you die,” he wrote. “You may die anyway. You, or the leader of your party, may make it into the cockpit and not know how to fly or land the plane. There are no guarantees. Except one: if you don’t try, death is certain.” 

Compare that with the following Tweets:  

"On 9/11, Americans cried together. Americans grieved together. But most importantly, on that day, we came together. Let this day remind us not only of the strength of our nation, but the strength of humanity and the bond of the American people. We are stronger together."

"We will always remember everyone we lost on 9/11, thank the first responders who keep us safe, and honor all who defend our country and the ideals that bind us together. There's nothing our resilience and resolve can’t overcome, and no act of terror can ever change who we are."

Even more surreal: 

"Trump served as keynote speaker for the Flight 93 9/11 memorial service...President Trump and the first lady visited the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, this September 11th. It is the site where 44 people were killed after an attempt to regain control of the hijacked plane 17 years ago. A new sculpture of wind chimes serves as a "living memorial."

The viruses of the mind (fear, ego) is the new terrorism. We should be charging the cockpit against that.