Mid- State, Josh Garfinkel, Grand Aleph Godol, 2001-2002 If the graves alone were the measure, Osama bin Laden would own this year; we lost more lives on September 11 than in any terrorist attack in U.S. history. And bin Laden did more than kill people. We had just packed up and stored away the century of Hitler and Stalin-both Men of the Year in their time-which we imagined had shown us the depths to which a despot could sink. But bin Laden is too small a man to get the credit for all that has happened in America in the autumn of 2001. Imagination makes him larger than he is in order that he fit his crime; yet those who have studied his work do not elevate him to the company of history's monsters, despite the monstrousness of what he has done. It is easy to turn grievance into violence; that takes no genius, just a lack of scruple and a loaded gun. The killers he dispatched were braver men than he; he has a lot of money and a lot of hate, and when he is gone there will be others to take his place. ~Time Magazine, December 31st, 2001 In AZA, we all have someone to look up to. Whether it be our savior, the guy who recruited us, or our teacher, the guy who embodied the love of AZA we all now share, we all have someone we hold up on a pedestal, high above our heads. This year, the world watched in absolute shock as men who for some reason looked up to a man named Osama bin Laden destroyed the view of the world we all once shared. My brother Alephs, This year did not start off well. With the attack on the heart of America, not only was my travel schedule postponed, but I sat at home, as I'm sure all of you did, and looked inside myself for answers to unanswerable questions. And, just as I'm sure many of you were, I was touched immeasurably by the good deeds that immediately followed these attacks. Just as I'm sure many of you have done in your past, I used to make fun of the principle of Patriotism. I mean, all the others are utilized almost every day, but patriotism? When on earth do you ever utilize the principle of Patriotism? This year, for 1