I used to know a cop, former dea agent, paralyzed in a very brave drug raid. I’m sure there are thousands of extremely brave and heroic cops and civilians who gave their lives or like my acquaintance something less in the war on drugs.
But if we had a celebration of all the individual stories of heroism and sacrifice in the war on drugs, it would be to most depressing wouldn’t it? And the reason why is because for many the war on drugs is a pointless failure that has eroded civil liberties, targeted minorities, and generally moved society in the wrong direction.
It would be extremely difficult to separate the powerful stories of individual heroic sacrifices in ghe war on drugs from the actual war in drugs. That’s how I see 9-11; the individual stories are part of a larger narrative and it’s difficult to celebrate individuals without thinking of the bigger picture.
Perhaps that’s not manly.
And if my kid gave his life protecting some fellow cops by taking a bullet from a drug dealer? I’d say it wasn’t worth it.
Analyzing the specific heroic acts on the day of 9-11 in a vacuum is in some ways like analyzing the acts of cops and civilians acting heroically in the war on drugs.
