I could say something eloquent.
I could take this space to talk about a lot of things, I think. I could talk about how today's Japanese class was one of the best ones I've had so far, or how I received my copy of Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony in the mail today and have been reading it since, or even about how I scared the shit out of Lesley because she didn't notice that I was burrowed away in my little nook when she came in.
I could talk about 9/11, and how it still marks the country--but that's not entirely true. When do we really stop and think about it, aside from today, the anniversary? Five years... it doesn't seem like it's been that long, and yet, it feels a lifetime ago. I still remember everything about that day (how cruel should it be that the sun was shining), but yet... there's been no follow-up. For how long afterwards did American flags fly from doors? How long were there ribbons tied around trees or street lights or telephone poles? How long did we hear the speeches and talk ourselves, vowing to keep this from happening and to "punish" those responsible? We felt for those who had been there, for those who had lost loved ones; we sent aid to the Red Cross and tried to recover from the shock of being attacked.
But what now? Nowadays we hear nothing--but that doesn't mean the consequences ceased to exist. Gradually the signs of patriotism have disappeared; the ribbons have frayed and fallen apart... and we put the matter out of our minds and continue on with life. But for those nearer, those directly affected... it's not over. It's still not over.
America seems content to move on to the "next big thing." I don't even remember what happened to push 9/11 out of the news--probably nothing as important, probably a new story about the world series or somesuch. I don't know--we've already moved past that onto the next thing. Everything that's happened in recent (or not-so-recent) years--9/11, for starters, Hurricane Ivan, the tsunami over in Asia, the London train bombings, Katrina, Rita, Wilma... it's all overshadowed so quickly. And we only spare a thought when the anniversary rolls around.
"Oh, yeah... that was so sad. *moment of silence*"
Is this really how we remember?
Does our attention really need to be directed in such a manner, that we have to be told and reminded of it all? I do agree that something like a unified moment of silence is a wonderful thing, but when people seem to forget until they're reminded of this fact... it just doesn't seem right.
I can't speak much, though. I was lucky and had no-one/few close to me to worry about in most of these instances (jade_chan and myxsilentxcries in Ivan, whiteangel_chan in Katrina, my grandmother in Hurricane Andrew back in the early 90's... to be quite honest, I don't know about a lot of things until they're done and passed, so forgive me if I've missed something) and the entire concept is a bit lost on someone as lucky as I.
So I suppose I'll just direct you to this link, and let Liz take it from here.
Public post, and I'm not cutting. Apologies.
I could talk about 9/11, and how it still marks the country--but that's not entirely true. When do we really stop and think about it, aside from today, the anniversary? Five years... it doesn't seem like it's been that long, and yet, it feels a lifetime ago. I still remember everything about that day (how cruel should it be that the sun was shining), but yet... there's been no follow-up. For how long afterwards did American flags fly from doors? How long were there ribbons tied around trees or street lights or telephone poles? How long did we hear the speeches and talk ourselves, vowing to keep this from happening and to "punish" those responsible? We felt for those who had been there, for those who had lost loved ones; we sent aid to the Red Cross and tried to recover from the shock of being attacked.
But what now? Nowadays we hear nothing--but that doesn't mean the consequences ceased to exist. Gradually the signs of patriotism have disappeared; the ribbons have frayed and fallen apart... and we put the matter out of our minds and continue on with life. But for those nearer, those directly affected... it's not over. It's still not over.
America seems content to move on to the "next big thing." I don't even remember what happened to push 9/11 out of the news--probably nothing as important, probably a new story about the world series or somesuch. I don't know--we've already moved past that onto the next thing. Everything that's happened in recent (or not-so-recent) years--9/11, for starters, Hurricane Ivan, the tsunami over in Asia, the London train bombings, Katrina, Rita, Wilma... it's all overshadowed so quickly. And we only spare a thought when the anniversary rolls around.
"Oh, yeah... that was so sad. *moment of silence*"
Is this really how we remember?
Does our attention really need to be directed in such a manner, that we have to be told and reminded of it all? I do agree that something like a unified moment of silence is a wonderful thing, but when people seem to forget until they're reminded of this fact... it just doesn't seem right.
I can't speak much, though. I was lucky and had no-one/few close to me to worry about in most of these instances (jade_chan and myxsilentxcries in Ivan, whiteangel_chan in Katrina, my grandmother in Hurricane Andrew back in the early 90's... to be quite honest, I don't know about a lot of things until they're done and passed, so forgive me if I've missed something) and the entire concept is a bit lost on someone as lucky as I.
So I suppose I'll just direct you to this link, and let Liz take it from here.
Public post, and I'm not cutting. Apologies.