'Membering 9/11
I do not REmember September 11, 2001. Remembering to me implies that there is something in your past, not your present. I prefer to think of what I do as 'Membering 9/11. I joined the military before September 11, 2001. I had been enlisted. I had received a commission and was a commissioned officer, a First Lieutenant. I had already decided that 20+ years in the Army would be a good thing. I took my oath, to Protect and Defend the Constitution of the United States, extremely seriously. I still do. I believe in the concepts that make the United States a great country with even greater potential.
On September 11, 2001, I did not form a new connection with the US of A. I did not re-form a connection with the US of A. I kept the same strong connection that I already had.
Since September 11, 2001 I have seen many Soldiers deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq (<== STUPID WAR). I have known the injured. I have known the dead. I know what mortars look like coming in at your position. I know the feeling one gets when there is an unexpected explosions "next" to you. I know how it feels to look down the length of your rifle, past the sights, into the face of the someone looking back at you with fear in their eyes. I know that war sucks BIG time.
And yet.....
And yet, I do not know what it is like for those remembering 9/11. The beltway was quiet with Remembrance today. It still is as I type these thoughts. The pentagon is such a big presence in the area now, that everyone feels an invisible connection.
I do not understand.
There is talk of people being tired of 10 years of war, but 99% of the US population doesn't have a connection to the military. They do not, nor have their families, served in or worked with the military. They have not faced higher taxes. They have not faced food shortages. Consumer items, luxury or not, have not been withheld. Yet, people are "tired".
There are those that have a personal connection to the lives lost on September 11, 2001 and in the wars afterwards, these people I understand. There are those that have had their loved ones (or themselves) sent overseas once, twice, three or more times into harms way. These people I understand.
There are those whose only connection is what they have seen on TV, heard on the radio, or read. These people that are remembering, but have not taken the affirmative step to 'member.
I prefer 'Membering 9/11. This is part of my past, not my past, just part of my past. Yes, I know where I was when "IT" happen. It does not define me, it is part of me. I am a husband, father, friend, random person on the street, and a member of the US Army. I am a participating member in life. I will forever 'Member 9/11, because like all events of life it is something that has shaped the future into which I travel.
I 'Member 9/11.