That Day.

I had thought to write a long post on this anniversary, my first as a blogger. But now I think, no.

There will likely be on many other blogs a good enough amount of well-written remembrances to make anything I attempt here superfluous.

In the four years since that day, I have seen our country struggle with what has been exposed as deep, bitter divisions. This didn't just happen lately, or even because of Iraq, no matter what either side wants us to believe. Hard on the attacks, we we treated to stupid, hateful rhetoric from a full spectrum of demagogues, from the execrable Pat Robinson and Jerry Falwell to Katha Pollitt and the lately, and mistakenly canonized Susan Sontag.

We have seen enough shameful displays from politicians and performers to last us to the end, and we haven't really moved an inch as a country.

The disaster in the Gulf Coast highlights in stark detail the failure of billions of dollars and flow charts supposedly meant to protect the populace. Government and the common people are equally to blame.

Probably the two brightest spots in this new history is the exemplary, heroic and often touching conduct of our armed services and the willingness of local responders and volunteers to defend and rescue their fellow citizens.

But as a country, we are still bickering amongst ourselves.

What, really, are we doing? And how can we fix what we have broken?

Only by putting ourselves, each and alone, back together. We are all broken, to one degree or another. We must have the strangth to ask ourselves what we can do before we demand it of others.

We must become more involved and invested in making government work better. Whatever our contribution, there remains the fact that there needs to be one.

What have we accomplished these four years gone?