I don’t like to do a lot of reminiscing or memorializing on this site. I recognize the value in doing it, and certainly we should mark important dates in our history and keep them as a matter of perspective. To me, though, that’s something you do every day – because the lessons taught by the events those dates remind us of don’t just work on September 11, or December 7, or July 4.

So I’m not going to be a big participant in the “This is the 12th anniversary of 9-11; look how much we care” thing everybody else does. We’ll mark the day, but we’re not going to make a big deal about it. We all know what happened 12 years ago, and we also know that we really DON’T know what happened one year ago.

Suffice it to say that 9-11 was a turning point of sorts. It signaled to us that our brief time as the uncontested superpower on the world stage was ending, and that to maintain that position we’d be in a fight. From 9-11 on we’ve been in that fight.

And we’re not winning it. It’s not clear anyone else is, but America is not in the geopolitical catbird seat it was on Sept. 10, 2001.

Coming to terms with that and fixing it is something for 365 days a year, not just one.

But since everybody likes to show how much they care about the fact it’s September 11, and remember the fallen, it’s only proper to offer something.

And frankly, this is as good as it gets…