Wow. It’s been 7 years since our collective shock began to settle in. Today I wonder if it ever truly did completely sink in.
For months after the attack, the 11th of every month was in itself a day of solemn reflection and remembrance, as we measured post-attack “progress”. Sometime after the first year, though, the 11th of every month again became just another day.
I was not very impressed with our country at the dawn of 9/11. The top stories of that day reflected our national obsession with celebrities and athletes. America seemed to becoming a self-absorbed, me-first, party kind of nation. Only a few truly seemed interested in the world beyond our borders.
Then, a cunning, treacherous enemy used our basic freedoms to hatch and execute a brilliant plot that rocked this country from head to toe, and came damn close to knocking us out for a long count.
Do you remember what we asked of our President and Congress on 9/12? I do. “Don’t let it happen again! Do what you gotta do but please keep us safe”.
This is not to initiate a debate on the actions taken by our leaders. We have not found Osama. Iraq is a mess. The country is in hock to its eyeballs and there are numerous other inspirations for the gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands.
As of today, though, we have not been attacked a second time. Other countries have been victimized, but we have not. In the days following 9/11, we were told “not if, but when”. The mere mention of words like “cropduster” sent shudders through people. Networks did specials calculating death tolls from subway attacks and poisoned water supplies.
Since nothing has happened, I sense we are once again drifting back to our old ways. There is more interest in whether Vince dumped Jennifer or vice versa, than our strategies against terror. Do you know what color today’s terror alert is/
Neither do I.
On 9/12, we were instantly a better country and a better people. We became considerate of each other. The flag on display once again meant something. We did everything we could to let the immediate victims of the 9/11 attack know we cared. It was cool to be patriotic.
Soon though, our national behavior began regressing. The courtesies and considerations we extended each other on 9/12 faded away. Obnoxious, self centered driving habits ruled the roads again, albeit with a plastic flag flapping out of every window.
Our TV landscape is once again a wasteland of dysfunction. Reality shows reward the worst and most self-centered “players”. Celebrity worship has never been more out of control, and we are drinking and drugging ourselves in record numbers.
You can’t care about what you can’t feel.
When word of the 9/11 attack spread, parents immediately whisked their kids out of school to hold them close, huddling in their homes. We were instantly re-prioritized. God’s name was raised in discussions away from church. He suddenly became important- again.
This month, a study shows the average parent now spends 19 minutes a day with their child, a number that has dwindled every year since 2001. Church attendance is shrinks, while sects that embrace the justification of 9/11 ominously grow.
I don’t like the America we are becoming- again. We have so withdrawn from our collective vigilance, become so annoyed at the inconvenience extra security has required, (and its expense) that I fear we are lapsing into another era of false safety on the home front.
I work in Montgomery, Alabama- host city to Maxwell AFB. I have come to know many military people there. They have been to Afghanistan and Iraq and know the mission. Most would go again if asked because they believe in what we’re doing, and are backing their faith in the US mission with their lives. We don’t for some reason, hear much from them. We support them with ribbons on our vehicles but we’re not listening when they speak, Whole soldiers returning from an unpopular war don’t make compelling news so they don’t get the camera time that the caskets do.
Whatever your feelings or opinions, we must pay our universal respects on the 5th anniversary of that stunning, horrible day. My hope is that on September 12th, we’ll remember how it felt facing the reshaped world in which we lived the day after.
We needed each other on 9/12. We were good to each other on 9/12. Let’s remember that, too and live it.
Again.
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