As we approach yet another 9/11 anniversary it is worthwhile to objectively examine the truth movement. by Joel S. Hirschhorn
(libertarian)
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Months, years and then decades slip by. Despite an avalanche of information burying me everyday I had not read or heard anything about 9/11 truth for many, many months. Sometimes movements become so marginalized that they no longer have enough vitality to stay within the consciousness of very many people.
I am sure, of course, that there are 9/11 truthers out there that still give and attend talks, write and receive emails and have lively conversations about the insanity of the official government story about 9/11 surviving and various alternative explanations of what really happened. Yet, in not too many weeks, another 9/11 anniversary will be here. And maybe then I will be hit again with chatter about what really happened on that past fateful and awful day. But today it is this writing by me that is my 9/11 truth: Hardly any Americans are concerned about 9/11 truth and there is no real interest in Congress in launching a new investigation.
So I went to a few 9/11 websites of groups that I am affiliated with; they were still there. And then I did a Google news search for 9/11 truth. Here is what I gleaned.
The first news item was something that the head of WikiLeaks.org, that was very much in the news lately because it was distributing a huge amount of materials on the war in Afghanistan, had said about the 9/11 truth movement: "I'm constantly annoyed that people are distracted by false conspiracies such as 9/11, when all around we provide evidence of real conspiracies, for war or mass financial fraud." This did not surprise me, even though, personally, I still believe that the US government conspired to keep the full truth about 9/11 hidden from the public.
But then I quickly came across a story in a local New Hampshire newspaper about a recent 9/11 truth group participation in a local event, and that heartened me that the diehard truthers were still marching proudly. Indeed, this was noted: "We would like to extend our warmest thanks to [the former Keene Mayor, State Representative, and one of our World War II veterans] for bravely standing tall and marching with our group. Your presence commands respect and it was indeed an honor to have you all join us. We sincerely appreciate your willingness to show support for our efforts to publicize the need for a new 9/11 investigation."
And I was heartened to learn that the fourth of July parade in Takoma Park, MD where I once lived hada float for the 9/11 Truth Now group in it.
Back to the WikiLeaks situation; this website has rightfully received incredible worldwide attention by the mainstream media for its ability to obtain and publicize key documents shedding light where the government and corporations don't want it. For 9/11 truthers here is something that merits very serious thought. If we are correct, then a fairly large number of people had a hand, probably as part of a black ops action, designing and executing many things, not the least of which was the controlled demolition of the three World Trade Center buildings. So why have none of these people leaked materials to a place like WikiLeaks? Could they all have been so bought off or threatened to stay quiet? Perhaps. But I must admit I find the lack of leakers troubling.
Of course, if the government had pursued prosecution of the many government workers that did nothing to prevent the 9/11 actions for, say, criminally negligent homicide, then perhaps some would have cut deals and blown the whistle. But as far as I can remember no civilian or military personnel were nailed for failure to detect and prevent the terrorism.
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that just because no 9/11 whistleblowers have come forward with compelling evidence that the official story is believable. Not at all. What the 9/11 truth movement needs, however, is a steady focus on the considerable evidence that undermines the official story, rather than on evidence supporting various alternative theories of what happened.
In this regard, the website of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 truth http://ae911truth.org/ remains as one of the best sources of serious, trustworthy information. The group has an event on September 9 this year in Washington, DC and also visits to various members of Congress to lobby for a new investigation. But if they do not offer draft legislation it will be a waste of time.
My other favorite website is Alan Miller's wonderful Patriots Question 9/11 [link edited for length], where so many credible people have openly questioned the official story, more than enough to convince the most skeptical people to support a new investigation. Thirdly, I urge people to use the Scholars for 9/11 Truth website http://911scholars.org/ because it also offers useful, reliable information.
Also impressive is the continued work of the NYCCAN group at [link edited for length]. They have asked the Manhattan District Attorney to investigate the collapse of WTC 7. Recently, they had 400 supporters mail or fax the DA the attached letter, which focuses on the destruction of evidence at the WTC site. The group thinks this is the most likely route the DA would take to opening any kind of investigation into 9/11.
Yes, the movement is still alive. But when will it succeed in getting a new credible and comprehensive government investigation? That is the issue.
When people in the public spotlight do not support the truth movement, as the head of WikiLeaks has done, it is a sign that success remains elusive. One truther exception was Daniel Sunjata, a lead actor from the popular FX television show "Rescue Me." The coming anniversary of 9/11 will most likely show that we still lack a critical mass of public demand for a new government investigation. One glimmer of hope might be the wide scale rejection of incumbents in Congress. Do candidates for Congress support a new investigation? The truth movement should get their act together and spread the word that truthers should only vote for candidates supporting a new investigation.
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Posted By: johnscriv
Date: August 4, 2010 07:44:56 AM
9/11 truth is a personal journey, a wakening, a revelation, a path to freedom via alienation and disillusionment.
9/11 truth is not for the faint hearted, it's not for the impatient, it's not for those seeking easy answers, quick fixes or absolute certainty.
9/11 truth is about wisdom and maturity, it's about insight, intelligence and inquiry.
9/11 truth is not about asking government for answers, it's not about expecting the authorities will suddenly act honestly, it's not about convincing the establishment or enlightening the masses.
9/11 truth is a journey we take alone, each on their own, with help here and there from others on the same path, seeking the same truth, but seeking in their own way, for their own reasons and with their own courage, strength and determination.
9/11 truth is eternal, elusive, evocative and illuminating.
In seeking 9/11 truth, learn well, trust your own intelligence, don't expect vindication.
Posted By: Joel S. Hirschhorn
Date: August 4, 2010 10:09:52 AM
Johnscriv: thanks so much for those wise, poetic and painfully truthful views about the 9/11 truth movement; they deserve very wide readership. As people can tell my impatience shows but my commitment to finding the revealing the truth remains strong.
Posted By: Dale Husband
Date: August 6, 2010 04:17:38 PM
Your column is titled "Stop Delusional Thinking" yet you publish THIS?!
Physican, heal thyself. The evidence that the Bush Administration was responsible for the attacks of 9-11 is virtually nil. Some things just need to be forgotten; this is one of them.
Posted By: Joel S. Hirschhorn
Date: August 6, 2010 04:49:37 PM
For any even half way intelligent person to assert that there is no evidence that the Bush administration had a hand in the 9/11 events just shows how brainwashed, downright stupid and completely uninformed and intellectually lazy so much of the US population is, and probably, of course, mostly applies to Republicans and other forms of conservatives that are a disgrace to what conservatives once were in this nation. What I wonder do such idiots think brought down WTC building 7 that no plane hit and no massive fire occurred. What happened to our famed defense system? As a Ph.D. metallurgist, I like so many other technical professionals, confirmed through deep analysis that there was no way that planes could have brought down the twin towers. At this stage to hear such dumb allegiance to the official government 9/11 story (pure fiction) is truly sickening.
Posted By: johnscriv
Date: August 9, 2010 03:06:13 AM
Your column is titled "Stop Delusional Thinking" yet you publish THIS?!
Physican, heal thyself. The evidence that the Bush Administration was responsible for the attacks of 9-11 is virtually nil. Some things just need to be forgotten; this is one of them.
Dale Husband thinks 9/11 should just be forgotten. Why?
I'm sure the perpetrators of this monstrous crime would like us all to forget about it, the last thing they want is a proper investigation.
Ask yourself, do you trust your government, do you believe everything they tell you?
If you are comfortable with the belief that government is honest and trustworthy, you will probably not want to contemplate the uncomfortable possibility that your government is dishonest and untrustworthy. Consequently, you will want to forget all about 9/11, since the evidence clearly connotes government complicity in the commission, execution and cover up of 9/11.
Posted By: Logical Premise
Date: August 9, 2010 07:25:50 PM
*snorts* The problem I have with the 9/11 Truth movement is you assume the government has competence and capability it's never demonstrated. It's rather similar to people who believe that Area 51 conceals UFO's: In all the years since 9/11 not one single piece of hard, real evidence has ever been produced showing the involvement.
In the early days, people who were confused listened, because they didn't understand. Once most rational people looked over the materials presented by truther groups, they didn't find it plausible. I certainly don't.
But the larger problem is the responses of people like Joel, who try to argue from authority and claim anyone disagreeing is a fool. Some of us are also competent in understanding metalluragic stresses and, I assure you, having worked for the railroad and rail-tempered steel for years, I have seen with my own eyes a FOREST fire warp and distort steel to the point where it shattered, or lost enough tensile strength to otherwise deform. The fire from burning jet fuels and the impact damage from an airplane strike hardly seems like some of the chidlish demonstrations on the website you linked.
IF you believe these things, then believe them. But if there had been a conspiracy, like every other idiotic thing the government has tried to stunt out, it would have leaked to some degree by now. And certainly liberals would love NOTHING better than to find proof of such a thing, and they weren't able to.
Who is the brainwashed, downright stupid and completely uninformed? The person who looks at all possibilities and dismisses those that make no sense, or the person who only looks at what they want to be true, because some nutty idiot philosopher says "guvmint is teh evulz" and rejects common sense to suggest ... "trutherism"?
Posted By: Joel S. Hirschhorn
Date: August 9, 2010 09:47:00 PM
Logical Premise is neither logical or intelligent; anyone who expresses such thoughts should spend some serious time examining the huge number of highly credentialed professionals who also reject the official story on 9/11 at patriotsquestion911 and also the extensive technical analyses that have proven that a fire from jet fuel could not possibly have caused the temperatures consistent with the various effects seen at the WTC, for example at the architects and engineers for 9/11 truth site. That no guilty people who perpetrated the 9/11 disaster have come forward is both disturbing and disappointing, but the powers that served the interests of some in the US government could clearly have enough power to prevent whistle-blowers going public. Better to question why so many people choose to believe that Cheney and others in the Bush administration would not have done such evil, murderous deeds to get the wars they so wanted.
Posted By: johnscriv
Date: August 9, 2010 11:21:45 PM
*snorts* The problem I have with the 9/11 Truth movement is you assume the government has competence and capability ...
Logical Premise lacks one ... he snorts and scoffs, attempting a tone of smug superiority, as if he is so much cleverer that all those "truthers", because he knows that "guvmint" isn't "teh evulz", it just lacks the competence and capability to fool Logical Premise.
Oh dear, here we go, another genius averse to rational thought, unable to countenance the possibility that his government is capable of dishonesty and mass murder. What a hero.
It takes moral and intellectual courage to face facts and examine evidence deemed taboo by the self appointed guardians of conventional wisdom.
Unlike Logical Premise, Joel Hirschhorn has demonstrated that sort of courage here.
Posted By: johnscriv
Date: August 9, 2010 11:59:26 PM
But if there had been a conspiracy ... it would have leaked to some degree by now.
What? Are you suggesting 9/11 was NOT a conspiracy?
Is that your logical premise?
9/11 was done by 19 lone nuts, led by a lone nut alone in a cave in Afghanistan ... the "lone nut" theory.
Now where have I heard that one before?
Or perhaps you think it's only a conspiracy if it challenges the official story, the conventional wisdom.
Maybe you have different meanings for the word conspiracy, maybe for you it's one of those shape-shifting words that changes its meaning to suit the context ... a perfect way to neutralize communication.
Oh, and of course, you haven't heard a word leaked ... surely the perpetrators of this dastardly deed would be desperate to expose their complicity and culpability, to claim the fame, to share their secret with the world.
The fact that not a single senior official has admitted involvement in 9/11 is PROOF they weren't involved?
This line of reasoning clearly illustrates the paucity of intellectual rigour and disregard for evidence that characterizes much of the commentary from those who promote or support the official dogma of 9/11.
Posted By: johnscriv
Date: August 10, 2010 01:07:19 AM
The comments posted here by Dale Husband and Logical Premise exemplify the folly and impotence of the forces seeking to censor and contain the truth about 9/11. Nowhere is the futility of their objective more evident than in the comment threads of sites like this, where free thinking individuals can express themselves and challenge the nonsense propaganda served up by government and the corporate media.
Anyone who studies the subject for the purpose of learning the truth pretty quickly realizes the impossibility of the official conspiracy theory, the illogical and unscientific explanation for the disintegration of the Twin Towers and Building 7, the unexplained failure of air defenses, the absurdities and inconsistencies of the official narrative leave no doubt in the minds of impartial students.
Only those paid by the state to lie, misinform and promulgate propaganda continue to wage psychological warfare on the citizenry, for the purpose of protecting the corrupt. Only those who feel a need to trust government remain stubbornly and willfully ignorant of the evidence, while denigrating and chastising those who have studied the subject and do understand the significance of the evidence.
For these reasons, the ranks of the defenders of the official conspiracy theory dwindle day by day, while the ranks of the informed swell ever more ... it is a one way process, an awakening, a realization as inevitable and unrelenting as any in human history.
The 9/11 cover up is a lost cause, it's champions are doomed, they cannot prevail, the truth will out.
