I noticed yesterday while flipping through the channels between football games that there were very few programs having anything to do with 9/11. This struck me as strange as it seems in the past there were always a bunch of programs leading up to the anniversary. We are 16 years out from that monumental day, a day that was much like this day with bright blue September skies above.
I saw a smattering of “Never Forget” profile pics etc. on Facebook this morning but the conspicuous absence of news stories and special programming dealing with this fateful date in American history have me wondering if perhaps we, as a nation, are starting to forget. Or is it that we are being conditioned to forget? I don’t know the answer and I’m not much about conspiracies but I do know that this is a day worth remembering, no matter what your political stripes.
I am a million miles away from where I was in 2001 and I have zero interest in politicizing this day. This is a day nearly 3,000 people lost their lives. It’s a day that caused at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage and a day that forever altered the collective American Psyche. That day changed the world forever and while the immediate aftermath seemed to draw us together as a nation, it feels like part of the consequences of this event include the planting of the seeds for the polarizing journey we’ve embarked upon as a country which has brought us to where we are today. We are divided as a nation (though I don’t believe nearly as much as what the media would have us believe) politically and philosophically with a few small minority groups expressing their views very LOUDLY and exerting entirely more influence over the majority than they should ever be able to.
I expressed similar sentiments on this blog last year at this time and my feelings remain the same. This is a day that I recall the events of 16 years ago like they happened yesterday. It’s a day I reflect on the journey I’ve been on for these years and a day I mourn the deaths of those who died on that day and also mourn the losses I’ve experienced personally since 2001.
To me it’s a day to count our blessings as well and to be thankful for everything we have. Our families, our friends, our livelihoods….all of the things that make us who we are.
Draw your loved ones close, hold them tight and celebrate life as you think back to how it felt that day.
I live fairly close to Shenksville, Pa. I’ve visited the memorial there and it is a somber reminder of the events of that day.. Like most Americans, I can remember exactly where I was that day, and what unfolded around me, including having to vacate a government building where I was wroking near a military base. It was the sort of thing you would have never thought could happen in any of our “back yards”, but we learned all to quickly that wasn’t the case. The TV channels around here covered the local events and there were a few cable stations that replayed their programs about 9/11. It was a quiet day around here….can’t decide if it was because people were remembering that day, or just moving along with their day. In any case, I agree with you….it was the day our world changed.
good post