Writer's Block: 9/11 - Where I was THEN. And where I am NOW.
The QUESTION:
9/11: Where were you?
It's hard to put this in words.
But, I'll try.
I could start by saying that this day is being treated like it's MY generation's "day that JFK was shot" or "day that MLK was shot"...only obviously on a much bigger scale. Over 3,000 lives were lost, not just one or two, during a two to three hour span during one ( Read more... )
Anyhoo, it's weird. You know how a lot of things that happen out in the world are also things or events that you feel personally removed from? Things that happened a long time ago? Or things that happened a world away from where you live, geographically speaking? Out of sight means out of mind...That's the way a lot of or even most people feel these days. Sadly.
But, I am NOT most people. War is a NASTY business. I hate every war that was ever fought and I wish this world could have a massive helping of Do-Over. In my humble opinion, why does anyone have to feed the greed to get more than your neighbor or the need to own or kill a fellow person? I know I don't feel the need nor have the desire to do ANY of those things to anyone out there, not even to people who might speak or wish ill of me.
So, IF I had been alive in the 40s, I don't know how I would have done it (especially since I am a Native American, with no formal training in ANYTHING, except for a BA college degree in Creative Writing and English, that is), but I would have done EVERYTHING in my power to stop the Dresden bombing. I wish NATO had been around then. I always feel talking your way out of a messsy situation is better than fighting your way out. And I think that mass-bombing any city is STUPID. :( You kill citizens and soldiers alike doing that kind of thing. Kids who have done nothing wrong die in the same moment that soldiers who have tortured POWs for giggles. And who really wins? NO ONE.
As I said, I might be an American. But, war is for the dogs. If there had been no WWI, there would not have been a WWII, and if greed had not gotten in those of the British heads-of-state that ruled over the Colonies, we over here might still BE a Colony. Something to ponder....
but, anyway, thanks for sharing your memories of 9/11 with me. :) You obviously didn't have to or anything, but I'm glad you did, all the same. :)
I was over here and I too still can't believe it's an event that's already a decade old. And I love your point about the internet bringing everyone together, and how through that medium, more global lines of communication are opening up between citizens of different countries, social classes, and cultures. And with that comes an exchange of ideas that help foster even more togetherness. :) And yes, I DO think knowing persons personally DOES make you more comfortable and less likely to act rash. Of course, there are always gonna be crazies out there as well, who don't change the way they think just because they learn something new. But, those stubbornly close-minded persons are fast becoming an extinct breed of human. And thank goodness for THAT. :)
So, I think there's hope for us yet. :D
~Sharma,
friending you
because you're AWESOME! :D
PS I think YOUR birthday is only three days after mine as well. So, we three (me, you, your brother) are gonna PARTY like it's our last day on Earth in just under a month from now! :D YAY! :D:D:D
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In my humble opinion, why does anyone have to feed the greed to get more than your neighbor or the need to own or kill a fellow person? I know I don't feel the need nor have the desire to do ANY of those things to anyone out there
That makes two of us now! I always thought I was the only person in the whole wide world not having that desire. Why can't we be happy with what we have, compared with how some other people live, we live in luxury! So why do we still want bigger, better, and keeping up with the Joneses? I don't. I don't even own a car, don't need it, we have busses and trams in the city. I live in an apartment, no need for a big house. I spent my money on travelling and meeting with people rather than things (except action figures, that is ;) ).
And that is the reason I never liked history lessons - they always only were about wars and changing of borders all the time. I was rather interested in ordinary people's life, you know? Why did Cesar feel the need to conquer, did he not have wife and children at home and just wanted to be a father? He was away from home for years, as I understand it. Although someone recently told me that he just took wife and children along... can you believe that?
As for the Dresden bombing, the sad story is, that they did not even try to hit the ammunition depot or the soldier camps, which were a bit outside of Dresden. They went right for the historical center of the city. Also, the firestorm had been intended and planned. We lost a lot of historical buildings that night, luckily many of them also got rebuilt so we still have a nice city I am very proud of and lots of international tourists visiting. Isn't that far better?
There was one church in particular which was left as a ruin for reminder for decades and only during the past few years it got rebuilt with money which people all over the world donated. In 2009, even president Obama visited for one day and he left a note in the guest book of that church.
Dresden is located in former Eastern Germany, btw. So making friends all over the world and also travelling to America and UK is something I do embrace even more, because back in my youth I would not have thought this ever to be possible. I was not even able to watch any of the sci-fi-shows I am watching now on our telly (<-- British slang I am picking up a lot recently ;) )
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Nice talking to you, am friending you back, and to think that we only met because of David Tennant! Isn't that great? We both share the love for Sherlock, although I have yet to see the RDJ version, and Stargate, although I am rather a Richard Dean Anderson girl myself - have met him four times and he is just a down to Earth nice guy. And in addition to Doctor Who and David Tennant I also have to throw in John Barrowman, I'm afraid - there's nobody else like him in this world. Saw him live in concert last year in Cardiff, it was amazing. And the icon with David Tenannt happened in June in London at the stage door. Was also amazing.
Have you seen the flag counter on my LJ? People from over 90 different countries have seen my Stargate action figure stories - if you click on it to have a closer look, there are a lot of countries I never would have guessed that they even get the show over there! I like that I can bring people joy with my ideas.
Native American, huh? That makes you officially the first one on my friends list. Must tell you, the Germans are especially fond of Native Americans. The reason is that one German author Karl May who wrote books about the Wild West - surely with lots of clichés and not everything true, but the center of his stories was that friendship between a German and an Apache chief called Winnetou, and showing that Red and White can live together rather than fighting. He died in 1912 but his books are still very popular to this day.
Back in Eastern German days there even were lots of so called Indianistik-groups, people and whole families who on the weekends lived in tents and sew their own clothes and wanted to be a bit back to the roots and back to nature. We had terrible ecological problems, woods dying, rivers full of toxin, so I guess that was a kind of protest. Nowadays we can swim again in the river Elbe or catch fish, you could not do this twenty years ago, it was dead. So, I think the idea that it is possible to live with nature and only take as much as you need appealed to these people.
Another example of that we should learn from each other, instead of destroying old ways.
Sorry, my responses tend to be rather long in general. I like to rattle on ;)
(And yes, birthday party! Yay!)
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