Friday, September 09, 2011

A Title Escapes Me

Were I touch more on the ball, I could have written this yesterday and named it Thoughtful Thursday.

I could be one of those daily theme bloggers, like I do on Wednesday. And then my OTHER Wednesday.

But, I'm not (on the ball) and I'm one of those people who always think up great and witty responses WELL after the conversation is over. The impact of which is lost when you phone the person, a week later, and say, "Hey, you remember that conversation we had about the thing? Well, I want to respond now. Are you ready and sitting down?" {click} "Hello??"

Meaning: I didn't think of it until now.

But here is what happened:

My son asked me, on an info gathering mission for a class project, if we (our family) had any personal connection to 9/11.

My immediate answer was, "No."

And, as always...'later' happened and I stewed on it a bit (or much) and then I asked myself the question again. Did I have any personal connection to the events of 9/11?

Yes.

I didn't lose a friend or loved one that day. I wasn't a first responder or a New Yorker - what they all experienced goes way beyond having a "personal connection" and I won't even pretend to know what that feels like.

And my "yes" answer isn't just because I'm American and these were MY people. There are countries out there (that don't hate us) that watched in horror as well. People, who've likely never set foot on U.S. soil, cried when they saw news footage.

They cried because they, like me, felt that the mass murder of thousands of people is so painful that every human being should feel it deeply.

Unfortunately, my "yes" answer is a little hard for me to explain - me, who is not usually at a loss for words (well, maybe in the moment - but they do come to me eventually).

But I answered "yes", because I STILL cry - when I see pictures of the event, the aftermath, the New York skyline and the memorial that is rising up from the destruction. I cry when I read about the way people treated each other back then, both good (strangers helping strangers) and bad (violence against people simply because they were Muslim or LOOKED like the could be).

It makes me sad that some of that hatred still persists.

Our commitment to remembering this event is still strong, even though so many people have moved on. At some point in our history this will fade - and hopefully it won't be because something more horrific takes its place.

My hope is that the sense of loss is something that will forever remain in our hearts, and in our future generations, so that when a Foreign entity becomes our enemy we won't feel it necessary to make our point like those men did on 9/11. That we won't feel the need to exterminate innocent human beings to show how angry we are. History has shown that a charismatic soul can influence men into unspeakable atrocities for what they perceive as the greater good.

Please don't let MY people become that blind.

This post has sort of taken on a life of its own. I am not entirely sure what it started out being, but I ended up here. I don't plan them, I just sort write until I'm done writing. So, if you are wondering what point or message I had...there is none. I'm just sort of feeling introspective and I'm awash with memories and emotions after viewing so many photos from that day. Forgive my rambling.

Peace

2 comments:

  1. I too hope we never become blind to such acts...I remember when Bin Laden was killed and they interviewed a young college student celebrating, drinking, and she didn't even know why...it can be a slippery slope I thought...thanks for sharing.

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  2. Veronica6:25 PM

    Couldn't have said it better. No one could have gone through that day anywhere in the world without feeling that you were connected.

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