A 15-year-old wound that still hurts Americans: #tellusatoday

Letter to the editor:

I was so proud of how our country came together after the 9/11 attacks. Unfortunately, it only lasted several months.

At the time, President George W. Bush and his aides used the attacks to lead our young men and women into an unjust war, convincing most Americans, and Congress, that Iraq was involved with the murder of nearly 3,000 innocent people. Thousands of Americans and Iraqis were either killed or seriously injured for no reason other than to enrich the lives of those in the oil business.

As a nation, we became deeply divided along partisan lines. Fifteen years later, it’s never been worse. Our political parties have become so polarized that almost nothing is getting done to improve a decaying infrastructure, while our relations with minorities and immigrants have deteriorated.

This is not the country I was once proud of. We have taken a huge step back and as this presidential election nears, I don’t foresee us coming together in the future.

Jeff Ostach; Cedarburg, Wis.

Facebook comments are edited for clarity and grammar:

I was active duty in the Air Force deployed in Saudi Arabia, getting ready to work a night shift when I saw the coverage on CNN. I was thinking it was just a plane crash, when the second one hit.

I worked a guard tower on the perimeter off the base that night. I will never forget how the Saudis were celebrating and how angry I was. I watched cars drive by on the highway outside the wall, honking, flipping me the bird, laughing out their car windows.

— John Buono

The attacks on Sept. 11 were preventable. President George W. Bush ignored warnings from various countries and intelligence agencies.

— Dave Bach

We asked our followers if they feel our country is better prepared to prevent another terrorist attack, after the events of 9/11. Tweets edited for clarity and grammar:

No. We allow too much talk in the news media, we tip our hat too much. Giving away too much information and not safeguarding those who are vulnerable.

— @mdeluzgon

We can’t even get good presidential nominees. You think we were smart enough to bolster our security since then?

— @padrefan13

No, due to a weak president who thinks you can talk to terrorists.

— @PPT_Dave

I would like to hope that we would be prepared, but in reality I think the country is not.

— @SarahGeranium

I keep asking myself the same thing, especially since the presidential election is in two months.

— @PhDrSeuss1

No. And I suspect we will see ISIS in full swing this Sept. 11.

— @sonjafry

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