The editor of the on-line new source that I blog for (DavisPatch.com) asked me to reflect on the 10 year anniversary of 9-11, and perhaps write about it. If I wanted to. This was a few weeks ago and I had a lot on my mind, and honestly hadn't even thought ahead to this. Guess I don't have quite the journalistic mind that he does. That's why he's the editor! (You can see my essay on Davis Patch at this link.)
So, just this fact alone, that I hadn't thought about it, is a good place to start. It's not that I've forgotten it -- never that. But it has fallen into the background of my mind and my life. I imagine I am not alone in that. Unless your own life was directly affected, I suppose that is what happens. Horrible things take place, and depending on how close it was to you, it eventually fades to the back of your mind as you go on with your life.
At the time, I couldn't imagine that life would ever be the same again. That day affected all of us to the extent that our safety was in question. Most of us had not really thought about that before. Ten years ago, my children were very young, and like most parents (I imagine) I was fearful for them, not myself. What kind of future would they have? How was life in America going to change?
We have seen changes--some subtle, some not. Not to the degree I imagined it. Certainly on the larger scale, security has been tighter. Homeland Security was created and all the practices and laws that have come about because of it. Most of that is behind-the-scenes. We experience it ourselves at airports, sports venues, and concerts. Cultural relations and racial profiling have become issues of more concern. On a smaller scale, we might approach life just a bit differently--being more aware of our surroundings and our habits. But even with these changes, most of us probably go about our lives as we did before
That's a good thing. I think. That was our goal as a country, right? Political leaders stressed that we should not live our lives in fear, rather we should continue to live as we always had. If we chose to live in fear and changed our habits, then the terrorists would win. We could not let them scare us into changing all the values that we hold dear as a country -- freedom, independence, the pursuit of happiness.
But, the consequence of trying to live our lives as before, is that it's easy to forget that we are still vulnerable. Something like 9-11 could happen again at any time. How many of us worry about this? I think about it sometimes, but I don't dwell on it. I personally feel that our government is doing an overall good job with security, but I realize that others do not.
How will 9-11 be reflected in history? Major events like this, while affecting the lives of people living at the time, don't have the same impact on future generations. They can maybe appreciate their significance, but in a detached way, like Pearl Harbor or the assassination of JFK. Those who lived through those events can recall them vividly, but those of us who did not, can only view them objectively. Children who were young when 9-11 happened, won't feel it emotionally like we do. It will be just another lesson in history. It's up to us to keep talking about it. To help them remember its importance. This year on 9-11, we will read again about the tragedy. We will see photo montages and hear personal accounts. We will watch again, the newsreels on television from that day. And then on 9-12, we will go back to business as usual.
The world was forever changed by 9/11, and I agree that it's very important to remember and to honour those who died and the families who were affected. We cannot live there 365 days a year but just as we remember those who lost their lives in major wars, so we must do with 9/11. I so trained my children to honour vets that I am confident that wherever they are on the 11th day of September at 11.00 a.m. they will automatically stop and remember those who gave their lives - just as I was trained by my mother. We train our children to remember and by showing respect...
ReplyDeleteExcellent point, Elizabeth. Comparing it to Veteran's Day etc.. We do that here too. I wonder if they will make 9/11 a national holiday? I think that's good idea.
ReplyDeleteSuch a good post. Looking back I feel like there was "Before 9/11" and "After 9/11". Before 9/11 was a relatively innocent time, and after 9/11 something was lost, sort of like before and after the JFK assassination. My younger son had just started kindergarten. It was a beautiful morning and I had a dream job doing technical illustration at home. I felt so happy as I settled down at the computer with my fresh cup of coffee, turned on the radio.... and boom, everything was different and it hurt, even when you didn't know any of the victims personally.
ReplyDeleteOne of my mother's co-workers was killed at the Pentagon - that's as close as I got to a personal connection. I remember feeling grief and anger and numbness. I remember hugging total strangers with American flags on their car antennas in parking lots.
I remember the following Saturday going to my son's T-ball game and everyone being so tender to each other and saying how it felt so good to be at a T-ball game – so exquisitely normal. I think ten years later we've lost that sense of how precious the good and normal things of our lives are.
One of my high school classmates died in the South Tower. Our class (all-girls) was always relatively close, but at our 30th reunion the year before, we once again said "oh, we should get together more often."
ReplyDeleteThe week after 9/11, we started a Yahoo group to disseminate information about Carol's memorial service. More than half the class is on it 10 years later. We are in closer contact now than we have been since high school. The cliques are gone and we support each other in surprising and touching ways.
I'm off to NYC on Tuesday to attend a week of observances, including visiting the new memorial. I was there last year, but I expect this year to be even more emotional.
And no, not everyone wants to hear about it. That's why I'm warning my blog readers that I'll be posting every day while I'm in NYC. If they want to read, fine, if not come back on the 16th when I'm back to "normal".
Great post!
Excellent points and observations.
ReplyDeleteI will be posting my own 9-11 rememberances on 9-10
The Cranky Old Man
Oh and thx for the award, I will cherish it forever!
You hit on some very good points. I always carry that day with me, but I don't let it take over my life. I remember to this day where I was and what I was doing when this tragedy hit our country. I even remember my first thoughts and emotions. I really don't like politics, but the Mayor of New York really makes me angry....He wants to honor the families that lost loved ones, but he wants it done without religion. Hello???? I think I should end here....My heart goes out to those families just like it did 10 years ago. Great post!!
ReplyDeleteAll of your comments are so moving. Thank you all for sharing here. I always try to reply individually if I can reach you by email, but wanted to say something here too.
ReplyDeleteI will never forget this song or where I was the first time I heard it. On that day I was sitting on a plane waiting for clearance that never came. 9/11 has different memories for me because that same week my dad was diagnosed with cancer, thereafter my own world changed. Thank you for sharing this song.. It's always been a favorite.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your reflections on 9/11. I feel as if my life was forever changed by that day. It did not affect me directly, meaning I was not in New York or Washington, nor did I know anyone who died in the towers or planes. But I feel that I think about that day so often. It's as if the event is always in the back of my mind. Perhaps because it did feel like the end of innocence. And since that day, it's like constantly waiting for another shoe to drop. I don't think that's bad. In fact, this is exactly how people in most countries around the world feel every day. It's a sobering reality of where our world is, really.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. It seems extraordinary that it was ten years ago as the memories of watching it - even from a long way away, here in London - are still so vivid.
ReplyDeleteMy brother was scheduled to work in the tobrother was working for a company located in the towers. It so happens on that day he slept in becuase he felt ill. He missed the attacks by a few hours. His life and his attutide towards it were forvever changed that day.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for your post, and its honesty about where 9/11 might reside in our collective memory, maybe fading, maybe still palpable. I was pregnant with my first child and sleeping alone; my husband was out running. I woke to a long string of messages, and new sense of imminent danger, heightened by the pregnancy and the fears you mentioned about my children's futures.
ReplyDeleteI think even if that sense of danger has lost some of its immediacy, we still hold it in our subconcsious awareness, a greater level of compassion in all of us lingering still at the surface.
Michael Ann, it's hard to believe that ten years have already passed since this great tragedy. I totally agree with you when you say that in the future, those who didn't live through this event, won't feel the emotions we lived that day; the pain, the angst, the sadness. My prayers will be with those families who lost loved ones because I feel that no matter how many years go by, their pain will be just as raw and fresh as it was that fatal day. Wonderful post, lady!
ReplyDeleteI watched The View recently, which may have been a repeat but there were psychic twins on there who predicted 911 two years before it happened and most of their predictions have been right on. They have other predictions that something is being planned for DC and a couple of other places, so I kinda believe the psychic phenomena when there's proof. I know most people don't but the bible speaks of it too.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it'll be a reflective time and we haven't been the same since it occurred. To me, the terrorists definitely accomplished a good part of their mission but I suppose it could've been more damaging.
You should have asked the question, “Where were on 9/11?
ReplyDeleteI’d taken my daughter to school at St. Therese that morning. My husband had on the TV when I returned and I watched the reality horror show... planes flying into tall buildings… people running for their lives… firefighters rushing to the scene… total pandemonium and panic.
I thought of Pearl Harbor, and remembered how we were attacked, once upon a time. And now we are repeating history in a vivid way.
I went back to the school to be with my daughter. On a dark day like this, I couldn’t be separated from my babygirl.
Well, the reason I didn't ask that question was because I knew every other blog would be asking that question! I wanted to know more about how people were feeling NOW, ten years later. Thank you for sharing this though. I don't think any of us will ever forget where we were that day. So powerful.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I think about things like this often. It's amazing how far removed 9/11 seems ten years later. I remember the years following it as being a big deal, with news reports and moments of silence in our classrooms. Now, it's another day. That's a terrible thing to say, because it's not just another day, but, like you said, it has moved to the backs of people's minds. I will never forget where I was or how I felt, but my students, who were just toddlers and kindergarteners at the time, don't have a clue. Hmm. This is a great thinking piece.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised by how many t.v. stations are doing week-long pieces on remembering 9/11. I was surprised - figured we'd be bored of talking about it by now. But, just the other day as I drove to work, I found more than one radio station having a sincere and thoughtful discussion on the events of 9/11. So, maybe it is just another day for some, but I think a lot of people are still discussing its significance . . .!
ReplyDeleteI completely feel the same way you do. Although when I do think about 9/11, it is with a very heavy heart, since I was not directly affected, I don't feel like my everyday life has changed very dramatically. When anniversaries like this come up, I feel a bit guilty for that, but I like how your post brings up the point that going about normal life is exactly what our political and miliary leaders were/are trying to create for us. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI was living here for 10 years and loving every moment of it, and when 9/11 happened I knew life as I knew it will never ever will be the same. Now 10 years later I feel the same way, life is no longer innocent. Thank you for your post and for your thoughts.
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