Important Note:
Opinions are fun. My friends tell me I am someone with lots of opinions and that's fine since I don't get mad at others when they disagree with me. In this same spirit I am interested in hearing yours views as long as you are able to share your views without boiling over. I look forward to hearing from you. I tend to write in the form of short essays most of the time, but contributions do not need to be in this same format or size. Some of the content here will date itself pretty quickly, other content may be virtually timeless, this is for the reader to judge.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1
For Many Americans, 9/11 is More History than Memory
Posted at: Sep/11/2012 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: Historical Insights,
Today is September 11th, 2012, this is a meaningful date for me. I work with kids a great deal and it is clear to me this date has less significance for them. Even for my own sons the significance is not there despite my attempts at teaching. One of my sons at breakfast this morning merely made the passing comment “oh yea…this is September 11,” then the conversation returned to last night’s football game. Five years ago this would have offended me, but age and parenting has tempered my view on the lessons of life and history. On September 11 of 2001, 19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group known as al-Qaeda hijacked 4 passenger jets. This carefully planned attack by al-Qaeda intended to use these hijacked aircraft and their passengers as missiles to suicide attack significant and iconic targets in America. Two of the planes were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Within two hours after the aircraft impacts both +100 story buildings imploded and slowly collapsed from the resulting fires and heat related structural failure. The third aircraft and its passengers were flown into the Pentagon building outside of Washington DC causing significant damage and loss of life. It has been speculated that the fourth plane was targeting the United States Capitol Building. Becoming aware of their destiny via cell phone calls, passengers on board this last plane attempted taking back control of the jet from their hijackers. As a result of this struggle, the plane went down in a field near Shanksville Pennsylvania never reaching its intended target whatever it might have been. Nearly 3000 people died on that date as victims of the choreographed attacks. Life changed significantly in America as well. Airport security became more extensive. The federal government was reorganized in an attempt to be able to more directly identify these types of threats. New laws were passed and special courts implemented to deal with security over personal privacy. Additionally, we militarized and attacked Afghanistan, the training center and safe haven of these terrorist. America has never been a place where things are left untended for long. The cleanup of the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan was complete by late May of 2002 and the Pentagon was repaired within a year. I suppose that I can’t really blame my boys for their lack of reverence with respect to this date, they were 4 and 7 years old at the time. I was watching TV while having breakfast and saw things unfold in high definition slow-motion, then get replayed until I was numb. Despite being personally traumatized, life goes on and anyone with kids knows that you can’t stop. Groceries still need to be bought, kids need to go to school and homework needs your patient help. I have had two of these group traumatic moments in my life. I watched the Space Shuttle Challenger explode and fall to the ocean in pieces 73 seconds after its launch on January 28th, 1986. I grew up mesmerized by the space industry and fully believed that space travel would be routine in my lifetime. The destruction of Challenger brought me back to the reality that space travel is still an exploration effort that should be limited to pioneers. When the Twin Towers came down on September 11, 2001 my vision of America and its place in the world changed. Terrorism and terrorist related bombing had been around for years, but these tragic events always occurred somewhere else in the world. As close as I had gotten to terrorism was the television in my living room, even then…the remote control allowed me to make them go away very quickly. I think I can speak for many Americans and say we felt an attack was something that happened elsewhere, we were immune. When my immunity failed me I felt a sense of vulnerability and insecurity, in this I am sure I was not alone. When my traumatic moments came I vowed not to forget and ensure others around me did not forget. I suppose that is the passion of the moment and I have come to realize that only half of my vow is really possible. My father was a young adult when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanize and a parent of small children when John F. Kennedy was shot, these were defining moments of him and his generation, but only history for me. Other defining moments in American history would include the firing on Fort Sumter, the sinking of the Maine, the burning of the capital in 1812 and the attack on the Alamo in Texas to name but a few. For each of their respective generations these events changed their lives and altered their view of the world. Nevertheless, with the passage of time these catastrophic events have become merely chapters in a history text. In retrospect, this is probably not a bad thing. Life is a busy enterprise, worrying about all the events that have gone before you would be a tremendous burden leaving a person mired in fear and depression. I don’t wish to belittle the events of September 11, 2001, for me the world changed and my sense of security shifted significantly. For people who lost family members or suffered more directly, I am sure the impact is greater still. For my kids and those who follow them, September 11 will be an important date they need to learn in history. This is not a bad thing as long as all the right history is taught with this event in time. I unfortunately expect that they will have their own significant memories. As the new tower rises quickly from the site where the twin towers once stood America is demonstrating it resilience and desire to not stand still. The rubble has been cleared, the dust is gone and with the passage of time most wounds have healed. Dwelling in the past is not a good way to live our short lives. Before long all that will be left is a memorial and a shiny new tower reaching into the sky. Five days ago, while visiting the Ground Zero Memorial in New York City, President Obama laid a wreath. As Presidents will do, he took the opportunity to say a few words as well. Key among the President’s words was the statement ‘When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say.’ I think the President got it wrong. While I believe strongly in the lessons we can learn from history, I also know that Americans don’t live in the past. There is a big difference between memories and history. For many Americans, the events of Septembers 11, 2001 are now much more history than memory and I believe that is a good thing.
Comments (0) [Add Comment]
