A note about 9/11
I want to take a moment to speak about the fact that it is, in fact, September 11th. Different people have different reactions to the day itself. People who knew people that died that day hold it in memory, as a day of grief. Other people hold onto a fear and sadness associated with the day itself.
And then there are people like me. Honestly, it didn't even occur to me that it was September 11th until I saw flags at half mast. After that, I just shrugged and walked away, going on with my life. At the times when the planes hit the buildings, I didn't stop and have a moment of silence, I was either in class, or driving to work. To be honest, I've moved on.
And that's what I think the country at large needs to do.
Yes, I realize that a lot of people died that day and that it was sad. But a lot of people died in the Oklahoma City Bombing. People died when Columbine was attacked by two of its students. People died when Virginia Tech was attacked by one of its students. People have been dying in coal mine collapses. But people don't remember those things. People don't insist on remembering them unless they knew someone that died that day. And while I'm not saying we should disregard the date or the people who died, I am saying that as a country we should move on. Yes, a lot of people lost husbands, wives, mothers, sons, fathers, daughters, and friends. But the entire country did not lose someone that day. I don't have a problem with New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania having ceremonies for those who died. Just like I don't have a problem with Virginia, Columbine, or Oklahoma City holding ceremonies for the people who died in those tragedies. But the entire country? It's been six years today. It's time to move on. Yes, terrorists took over airplanes and flew them into buildings. Yes, a lot of people died. Yes, it was a day that was memorable and to be honest, scary. I was afraid that day, I was distressed. I damn near got into a fist fight with one girl who was worried that TRL would be canceled that day. (Yeah, who else remembers when THAT was popular?) To this day, I still remember exactly where I was when I found out. I still remember reading the papers and watching the news for days - I, along with the rest of the country, watched those airplanes fly into those buildings over and over again. We watched the World Trade Center fall down into rubble dozens and dozens of times that day and the weeks after.
But it was six years ago. Continually mourning is not going to bring anyone back. Continually living in fear that they can do it again is not going to make terrorism go away. The point of terrorism is to cause terror. Hence, the name. The point isn't to blow us all up - lets face it, the Al Quida can't do that. None of the terrorist groups can. Especially in the US. What are they going to do, take us over? With the US's rate of civilians that own guns? I don't think so. But they want us to be miserable, so instead they scare us. People act stupidly when they're afraid. So basically, by living in continual fear of terrorists and terrorists attacking us, we let them win.
What I'm trying to say is, yes, acknowledge the day. Unless you knew someone who died, it's not as big of a deal as some people are making it out to be. Whether you like it or not, 9/11 is going back to just being...well...a date. You don't need to feel obligated to remember, or feel guilty about daring to laugh and not be depressed. But really...is six years not enough time to move on? It's really easy to be scared, to be sad. I think what the real challenge is, the one no one wants to do yet needs to be done, is to pick up your life and move on.
And then there are people like me. Honestly, it didn't even occur to me that it was September 11th until I saw flags at half mast. After that, I just shrugged and walked away, going on with my life. At the times when the planes hit the buildings, I didn't stop and have a moment of silence, I was either in class, or driving to work. To be honest, I've moved on.
And that's what I think the country at large needs to do.
Yes, I realize that a lot of people died that day and that it was sad. But a lot of people died in the Oklahoma City Bombing. People died when Columbine was attacked by two of its students. People died when Virginia Tech was attacked by one of its students. People have been dying in coal mine collapses. But people don't remember those things. People don't insist on remembering them unless they knew someone that died that day. And while I'm not saying we should disregard the date or the people who died, I am saying that as a country we should move on. Yes, a lot of people lost husbands, wives, mothers, sons, fathers, daughters, and friends. But the entire country did not lose someone that day. I don't have a problem with New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania having ceremonies for those who died. Just like I don't have a problem with Virginia, Columbine, or Oklahoma City holding ceremonies for the people who died in those tragedies. But the entire country? It's been six years today. It's time to move on. Yes, terrorists took over airplanes and flew them into buildings. Yes, a lot of people died. Yes, it was a day that was memorable and to be honest, scary. I was afraid that day, I was distressed. I damn near got into a fist fight with one girl who was worried that TRL would be canceled that day. (Yeah, who else remembers when THAT was popular?) To this day, I still remember exactly where I was when I found out. I still remember reading the papers and watching the news for days - I, along with the rest of the country, watched those airplanes fly into those buildings over and over again. We watched the World Trade Center fall down into rubble dozens and dozens of times that day and the weeks after.
But it was six years ago. Continually mourning is not going to bring anyone back. Continually living in fear that they can do it again is not going to make terrorism go away. The point of terrorism is to cause terror. Hence, the name. The point isn't to blow us all up - lets face it, the Al Quida can't do that. None of the terrorist groups can. Especially in the US. What are they going to do, take us over? With the US's rate of civilians that own guns? I don't think so. But they want us to be miserable, so instead they scare us. People act stupidly when they're afraid. So basically, by living in continual fear of terrorists and terrorists attacking us, we let them win.
What I'm trying to say is, yes, acknowledge the day. Unless you knew someone who died, it's not as big of a deal as some people are making it out to be. Whether you like it or not, 9/11 is going back to just being...well...a date. You don't need to feel obligated to remember, or feel guilty about daring to laugh and not be depressed. But really...is six years not enough time to move on? It's really easy to be scared, to be sad. I think what the real challenge is, the one no one wants to do yet needs to be done, is to pick up your life and move on.