Daily Lesson from Life 11 September 2008

"Pentagon Sept 11 memorial revives painful memories

Memories have become less intense over time but will never fade completely. -Thu, Sep 11, 2008 Reuters

WASHINGTON - On the morning of September 11, 2001, Patrick Smith was walking toward a television set in a Pentagon office to get news of the attacks on New York's World Trade Center when he heard a loud boom.

"The wall in front of me kind of buckled inward," he recalled. "The ceiling tiles and wires all started coming down, then it went black and then ... a giant fireball just came over the wall."

Such scenes will pass through the minds of many survivors on Thursday, when the first major permanent U.S. memorial to commemorate the September 11 attacks will be dedicated to the 184 victims of the assault on the Pentagon.

The ceremony at the fortress-like headquarters of the U.S. military, attended by President George W. Bush, will take place exactly seven years after al Qaeda militants hijacked four airliners and killed almost 3,000 people."

911. I did not think about this day until I read this news headline and the memory starts streaming back to me. I was at home in Singapore and watching CNN when the news flash came out. Then the image came up and I watched for a few hours into the wee hours of the night and early morning until I saw the twin towers crumbled to the ground like 2 decks of poker cards with people on the ground screaming and running like mad for their dear lives! The soot rolled into the cameras like giant waves with lightning speed and merciless!

So almost 3,000 people died in that day alone. The USA spent the next few years making sure the perpetrators and the countries they represented have it bad. Really bad! Billions of dollar were spend to so-called clear the earth of such elements. Billions of dollar were dumped to make more weapons and fly anywhere to flush out the, again, the so-called terrorists.

When the leaders focused on certain things, things get done. Money get allocated. Unfortunately, in my and some other experts, the focus was misguided in this case. The USA needs ALL these money to invest in their OWN infrastructure! Build more schools, roads, ports, airports, etc instead!!

Lessons for me are:

1. singular focus get things done. At the same time, it may miss a chance to do differently!;

2. it is very difficult to get out of a locked position. A true leader will be able to do though. It takes courage to listen to different opinions and willingness to admit, remotely, that maybe you are NOT that good after all!;

3. it is not too late to change tack! The USA can become strong and be the world police again when it gets it's house under control. With the change of President eminent, maybe the new President can do better than President Bush Jr!!

May this incident never get repeated anywhere in the world.