The drive in today was slow due to all the construction on the west side of town; had some time to listen to local talk radio and their topic du-jour was getting past 9/11.
Needless to say, I was pissed.
Driving out to the highway, there's only a few flags flying; nowhere near what you saw in the weeks and months after 9/11. The few I see are the ones I expect to see, older couples' homes. People I see that, whether they liked it or not, time had imparted wisdom upon. I was happy I didn't put mine out this morning; only for the fact that it hasn't been down since 9/11. I think I've worn out more flags in the past 6 years than many people have ever owned.
I hadn't seen the local guy that stands over the 38th street overpass in his usual spot, waving his flag, and I figured the radio was giving me a dose of reality. 6 years on and nobody wants to remember. It didn't directly affect the majority of people in the United States other than inconveniencing them slightly and forcing a degree of concern in their lives.
4 years on from Pearl Harbor and nobody wanted to remember that either; they had VE Day and VJ Day to close the loop for them. Sure, the people that lost family and friends at Pearl probably still remembered, but then again, a lot of people lost family and friends in the years after that. In the grand scheme of things, the US hasn't lost that many people including and since 9/11 and it's been 6 years. Hell, we've lost less people in 9/11 and the subjequent wars than during the "peace time" of the Clinton years (7,500), the single term of Bush 41 including Gulf War I (6,223), and the 2 terms of Reagan's Cold War (17,191).
So I'm already pissed and the parade of callers on the radio aren't restoring my faith. The talk show reports that the major newspapers across the country, sans New York, mention 9/11 only in conneciton to General Patreus' Iraq briefing. I heard John McCain on Fox telling us it's the news networks job to remind the people of 9/11. How embarrasing for us that we need to be reminded.
As traffic breaks and starts to move I get a pleasant surprise; well, pleasant in that it's good to see, but the emotion it brings forth isn't something that I particularly enjoy. Due to the construction, the flag guy has moved up a few miles, waving proudly, and slowing traffic again. Drivers are honking their horns and the construction workers are waving to everyone. I guess some remember. I feel pretty shitty about second guessing, and worse yet because I know that many have moved on.
It's to be expected I suppose. Even in New York, ground zero; memorial services aren't even being held there anymore. As much as I want to see rebirth at that site, the process requires sanitization of the site. Long ago, the debris was removed, the PATH train stations have been rebuilt, construction equipment has been all of that place since day 2 with the sole goal of getting rid of all evidence of the destruction. The best quote I've read relating to this is: "Americans like history as long as it's over fast enough."
As well, today is the anniversary that draws out the moonbats to tell us how Bush and the administration are idiots and bumbling fools, yet at the same time pulled off the biggest conspiracy of all time by being the orchestrators of 9/11. It draws out the self-absorbed who demand we try and understand the mind-set of those that hate us. It draws out feckless who assume that the United States, by it's action or inaction, caused 9/11 and that somehow if we apologized everything would be rosy again.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
John Suart Mill (1806-1873)
6 years on and we haven't been the victim of another successful attack on the homeland and I'm not sure why. OBL's stated goal is to create the conditions where we lynch muslims in the streets, burn mosques, and give the world muslim population a reason to bring us a holy war. Our society is such a double edged sword. On one hand, we are open and free; and let's face it, just about anyone could successfully pull off a bombing just about anywhere in this country because of that. On the other hand, if that were to happen, the only way to retain our dignity as Americans is to respond in a very discriminating and measured manner to prevent a wider war. What kind of attack would break down that balance and give them what they so desire?
I still cannot forget that day; I think trying to do so would be more painful than remembering. I fear the nation as a whole forgetting that day as that would be the harbinger of it's repeat.
LAN ASTASLEM!