Brutally Honest Audio Rant: What if 9/11 didn’t happen?
Audio Transcripts
09/06/06
[Start Program]
(Computer – Introduction)
(Music intro – "American Idiot Remix" – by Green Day and David Matthews 2)
Good evening, and welcome to this week’s Brutally Honest Rant. I’m David Matthews 2, writer of the weekly online column Brutally Honest.
As I’m doing this rant, it’s September 6th, 2006. In just five days from now, we will be marking the fifth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on America. A very significant day for many Americans, but probably not for the rest of the world… at least not yet.
We got scared on that day. We got scared, scarred, frightened, traumatized, and then we got MAD. We got vengeful. We wanted BLOOD!
And we didn’t care who we got it from either! Mommar Quadafi knew what we’re like when we want blood! That’s why he was quick to back down from his usual anti-American banter and decide to cooperate with us. He knows what happens when we’re in this mode! He SHOULD know… because he lost family members the last time he got in a pissing contest with us!
The rules changed. We got to be complete dickheads. Screw the world! Screw the UN! Screw everything and everyone that stands in our way! The Taliban refused to turn over the terrorists, so we invaded Afghanistan! Saddam Hussein started talking trash about us, so we invaded Iraq!
Everything that we as Americans feared about becoming a dictatorial Orwellian society got thrown out the window. Suddenly we are ALL willing stooges for Big Brother! Ten years ago we would be objecting STRONGLY to the kinds of measures that we accept today without hesitation. That is what the FEAR did to us! And I don’t care if that fear came from the terrorists, from the air-fluffed media, or from our own government looking to hold political power, we no longer represent "the land of the free and the home of the brave". We’re now the land of the security zones and the home of the fearful. And we really have nobody to blame for it but ourselves.
So that obviously has us wondering… what WOULD life be like if 9/11 never happened? How would things be different?
Now I know that several people have spun up some fancy scenarios about the things that may or may happen differently. Some of the "alternate histories" sounded a little realistic, while others were just WAY too off-the-wall.
For instance, one person spun this belief that Al Gore would be President of the United States. Not very realistic. Another person believed that gas prices would hit $20 a gallon. Again, not very realistic.
Before I got into doing online commentary and getting involved with the stuff going on in the here and now, I was into writing science fiction stories, which is what the realm of alternate history is about. It’s science fiction. Now one of the secrets of doing alternate histories is that unless you do something completely off-the-wall like having dinosaurs still rule the planet, you have to make your alternate history look realistic. You have to take real-world reactions and real-world rules into account.
So here goes… let’s suppose that 9/11/2001 was just an ordinary day. The plan failed, or the plan wasn’t carried out. The Twin Towers are still standing and the Pentagon was never attacked. What would our alternate world in 2006 be like?
Well, here’s how I see it…
(Background music – "Orbit of Glass" by Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori)
In the middle of September of 2001, the US Department of Justice launches a new all-out assault on all things offensive. Their first victims are the adult entertainment industry. This was an assault that was months in the making. The Department of Justice under Attorney General John Ashcroft had already quietly brought in every anti-sex crusader group that supported the Republicans in the 2000 election. Several of their people became special investigators and special deputy attorney generals specifically to lead this crusade.
A massive and coordinated attack on adult film producers and distributors is carried out. Modeling agencies that provided the talent for such films are shut down. Online distributors are raided. Strip clubs and swingers clubs across the country are all raided and shut down. Federal racketeering laws are invoked to seize the properties of these businesses. Magazine publishers are soon targeted, and much to the promise made by Bay Buchanan earlier that summer, even Playboy Magazine wasn’t safe from this crusade.
In November of 2001, President Bush addresses the United Nations to call for a global war on sexual exploitation. He uses the anti-sex crusades being carried out in the United States as the basis for pushing for a Security Council resolution to use every resource possible to go after what he called the "organized criminal sexual exploitation of women and children". He calls this his "War for Decency", but the media quickly latches on to the nickname for this crusade as provided by Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove… the "War on Filth".
In Washington, conservative Republicans along with Democrat Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut announce the formation of a new congressional investigation of the entire entertainment industry. Motion picture studios, television networks, magazine publishers, video distributors, video game distributors and even newspapers would be affected. Lieberman had previously warned Hollywood executives that he would lead the charge in Congress to clean that industry up, and many simply didn’t take him at his word until this point.
In December of 2001, a wannabe terrorist named Richard Reid attempts to ignite explosives hidden in his shoes during the middle of a transatlantic flight, but is stopped and restrained by passengers. This act causes airports to pay more attention to security and bomb detection, although Congress never sees fit to spend more money on bomb-detecting equipment. The White House spin paints Reid as a pathetic joke, corrupted by drugs and porn, which they fit into their "War on Filth" crusade.
During that same time, big corporations like Enron and WorldCom begin to collapse, laying off thousands of employees. Democrats immediately blamed the Republicans for "allowing" the corporate collapses to happen, pointing to huge campaign contributions made to Republicans. But as the details of Enron’s collapse start to come out, the White House and the media are quick to point out that Enron executives used corporate resources to fund their "addiction to porn" and their "hedonistic lifestyles" which they believed were again part of their "War on Filth" crusade and only reinforced their determination to "clean up" America.
In 2002, the great economic recovery that was promised in exchange for the White House’s tax refunds never really happened. Democrats in Congress were demanding another "tax refund" as a quick-fix solution, but Republicans balked at the idea since they knew that the first one was an empty scam to begin with. Airlines were asking for federal assistance, while at the same time the financial institutions were looking to rewrite the bankruptcy laws for the rest of Americans and to change the rules so they would not be held to their pension programs. To cover up this double-standard, the Bush Administration launches a new crusade to "bring decency back to America" by pushing for changes in the US Constitution to ban flag burning and gay marriages; to require mandatory reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance; the mandatory postings of the Ten Commandments; and to require a mandatory minute of prayer. The White House hopes that there is enough of a momentum from their "War on Filth" crusade to pass these amendments, but even with the media onslaught from the religious groups and support from even the Vatican, all attempts fail miserably. But as a distraction, the crusade works perfectly, and it helps to secure Republican control of Congress in the mid-term elections.
During that same year, Congress begins their joint hearings on the entertainment industry. Executives from the television networks are grilled by Congress about the kind of content they show and the subject matters they discuss on their programs. They fared better than the executives from the cable companies, especially Home Box Office, Showtime, Cinemax, and the Movie Channel. The cable channel FX – owned Rupert Murdock, who also owns Fox News – announces that they have abandoned the premiere of a gritty TV series called "The Shield", which would have featured nudity, sexual situations, violence, and profanity. Even though it would air during the so-called "allowed time period" for such material, FX executives declare that the current political environment was too caustic for such a show to air. They would later air the series at midnight, but heavily edited to remove the so-called "offensive material". The series would be cancelled three months later.
Congress would later turn their attention to the recording industry, and how suggestive lyrics were contributing to this so-called "conspiracy of filth". Already smarting from their attempts to shut down file sharing, the recording studios and radio stations caved quickly to the demands of the politicians to "clean up" their medium. Radio personality Howard Stern along with fifty other so-called "shock jocks" are fired en masse to demonstrate the willingness of the corporate radio networks to bow down to the will of the government.
In 2003, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission – Michael Powell – steps down under intense pressure from the White House for someone more "fundamentalist". In his place, a baby-faced conservative by the name of Kevin Martin takes the helm, and is easily confirmed in the Senate. His first act is to abolish the so-called "indecency time" where adult subjects could be aired on radio and television. Martin declares that THERE IS no such "acceptable time" when such material should EVER be discussed and declares open regulatory warfare on any radio or television station that thinks otherwise. He also advocates for tighter controls on material for cable companies, including subscription-based channels, even though the US Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that such restrictions are blatant violations of the US Constitution.
During that same year, Sports Illustrated announces that it is ending their highly-popular annual "Swimsuit Edition" after an intense investigation by the Department of Justice of their 2002 issue in which outlines of nipples could be seen through the outfits. So-called "boy magazines" like FHM and Maxim declare bankruptcy after having their issues pulled from store shelves.
During that same year, the Bush Administration begins plans to deal with Iraq. Saddam Hussein had been a continual thorn in the side of the United States since he removed the UN weapons inspectors in 1998. But even after the White House began to paint Saddam’s sons as bloodthirsty wanton godless heathens, the US lacked the support needed even for a Security Council resolution ordering the return of the inspectors. The European Union had already balked at the "war on filth" crusade, and several of the American adult film stars had already been given political amnesty in France, the Netherlands, and Romania, as a further slap in the face on the so-called "bastion of freedom"
The 2004 Presidential Campaign season saw several surprises. The most notable for Democrats was the stern refusal of former Vice President Al Gore and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to run for the White House. Senator Lieberman did try to run but came in last place in every primary. This was considered payback for Lieberman’s key role in the congressional hearings, which resulted in several studios going bankrupt and cost the entertainment industry BILLIONS in revenue. Studio executives also attempted to rally a recall vote to remove Lieberman from the Senate, but it lacked the votes needed. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean ran a very caustic primary campaign, going so far as to call President Bush the "Ayatollah-In-Chief", and to refer to the Republicans as the "GOP Taliban" – in reference to the religious extremists still ruling Afghanistan, where suspected terrorist chief Osama bin Laden still organizes terrorist operations around the world. Governor Dean refused to apologize for his comments, which only served to help him in the primary, finishing a close second to Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. Kerry would later make Dean his vice-presidential candidate.
As expected, President Bush ran unopposed, with strong religious support from every conservative religious organization.
The Kerry-Dean ticket focused their campaign on the stalled economic recovery of the Bush Administration, the so-called "War on Filth", and the White House’s close connections to organized religion. The Bush-Cheney 2 campaign attacked Kerry’s military record and Dean’s "godless attacks". The defining moment came during the final presidential debate, when President Bush, in condemning Governor Dean’s comments, said the following: "Anytime you attack the beliefs of the President of the United States, you’re attacking God. I believe that the President of the United States is here to do God’s work and that’s what I’ve been trying to do."
President Bush would later regret making that impromptu statement, as he would lose the November election by a slim but verifiable margin to John Kerry.
But President Kerry would have little to celebrate about, as 2005 started with the aftermath of a devastating tsunami in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The economy was also a key concern, as the stalled recovery under Bush along with numerous corporate bankruptcies were further aggravated by the creeping price of gasoline. Al Qaeda terrorists were successful in attacking several oil wells and facilities in the Middle East. That, combined with the talk of Iraq re-starting their chemical weapons program and Iran talking about developing nuclear weapons, helped drive the price of oil to above $70 a barrel by January. The average price of gasoline in the United States was over $2.75 per gallon and continuing to rise. The oil crunch would become President Kerry’s most pressing issue… especially after Hurricane Katrina hits.
Although President Kerry would cut his vacation in Massachusetts short and fly down to Washington before the hurricane came ashore, Republicans were quick to blast the White House for not taking a personal lead in reacting to the devastation in the Gulf States; specifically in the flooded areas of New Orleans. They accused Kerry of being more concerned about the affect the hurricane would have on the nation’s oil supply and trying to stem the hysteria of the oil markets than in the loss of human lives and the destruction of that area’s businesses. Even when Kerry was proven to be right, the Republicans accused the president of not responding FAST enough and claimed that a REPUBLICAN president would have taken a more immediate "hands-on" approach.
And so, as our alternate history of a nondescript September 11, 2001 catches up to our alternate present day, we would find that the terrorists would still be causing problems around the world. Iraq would still be under the control of Saddam Hussein and still posing a threat to the world. Afghanistan would still be under the control of the Taliban, and the crimes against humanity committed by these fanatics would still go unpunished. And they would still be the sponsors of the al Qaeda terrorist group. Iran would still be looking for nuclear weapons, although they would be able to justify it as wanting to stop Saddam from developing his chemical weapons. North Korea would also still cause trouble. And we would STILL have to deal with the same economic problems, although my guess is without that rallying cry of "buy it or the terrorists win" we wouldn’t even have a stunted recovery to help us out.
But let’s get brutally honest here… if anyone thinks that a United States without 9/11 would be a bastion of freedom is just deluding themselves. The Christian fanatics and other freedom-hating moralist groups were HELL-BENT on kicking off a crusade to impose their will on society. They wanted to finish what they started during the Reagan years, and had to wait until the right President was in office to do it. The only reason why they couldn’t carry out their new crusade as planned was because another bunch of religious fanatics – Islamic fanatics – beat them to the punch. But they still managed to bring elements of it out when the situation called for it.
Christian crusaders or Islamic terrorists, it really wouldn’t matter for freedom-lovers like yours truly. Freedom would STILL be under attack in 2001 and forward. The only difference is that in the alternate history, the crimes AGAINST Americans would be committed BY Americans, and ON BEHALF of America.
(Computer – the future is born in pain)
(Fade Music In – "Mythodea" by Vangelis)
As we look back to the events of five years ago… and look at what the hell we got ourselves into… and ask ourselves how things MIGHT have been if 9/11 didn’t happen, I want you to understand that we were heading down a pretty dark road to begin with.
I know that I’m going to piss a few people off by saying this but the terrorists actually did the religious crusaders here in America a favor by striking first. They did the Christian conservatives a favor because it gave them an excuse for their own arrogance, it validated their own self-righteousness, and it justified their own agenda. It gave them a bloody shirt to wave around and a cause to rally against. It gave them a reason to impose THEIR WILL on the rest of America other than the usual retort of "because I TOLD YOU SO". It gave them an enemy OUTSIDE of America to point to without fear of a political backlash. And most importantly, it gave them permission to use the word WAR without hesitation or question, and to use that word to justify EVERYTHING under the sun.
I’ve seen the rhetoric. I’ve heard their propaganda. The only question left is… when will the rest of the people realize that the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend?
That answer is really up to YOU to answer.
(Pause)
Brutally Honest is a Get Brutal production, all opinions expressed are those of the commentator, and may or may not be shared by the online provider. This is David Matthews 2 saying good night, and I’ll speak with you soon!
(Fade out)
(Computer – Ending/"End of Recording")
[End of program]
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