Let's Forget 9/11

Remember 9/11.

     Every time the eleventh day of the ninth month comes around, I see this command patriotically posted across the social media universe. If I were in the United States today, I could have turned on any cable news station this morning and watched the moment the planes hit the towers; the moment our nation's innocence was stolen. I can trace the trajectory of those planes-turned-missiles and watch the last moments that our country was not embroiled in a Middle Eastern conflict. Those planes carried more than human beings and jet fuel on them-- they carried new terms like "War on Terror" and "Patriot Act" into our collective lexicon. When they struck, they incinerated our naïvety and some of our respect for the rich diversity the world offers.

      And so I propose: let us not "remember 9/11"--at least not as we currently choose to ritualize it. 

     The events of that particular eleventh day of the ninth month of that particular year became a stage for great acts of valor by individuals. To merely commemorate the day and not the people is a disservice to all those who stood up to the evil that sought to change us. This much has been made clear in 11 years: the events of 11 September 2001 were meant to change a civilization, not a city. they was meant to disrupt our thoughts, not our airport security lines.

     By their very definition, acts of terror are psychological attacks that manifest themselves for a moment in a great burst of physical violence. The attacks of that day continue on in these days; each time we look with suspicion upon a Muslim; each time we think more about where we were that fateful morning instead of reflecting on those who rushed there, trying to show strength in a time of confusion and weakness.

    "Remember 9/11" is a product of our culture's infatuation with the brief and broad. But the events of the eleventh day of the ninth month of 2001 call for anything but brevity and vagueness. In 2012 we are called not back to ground zero but to return to square one. We are in need not of slogans, but of actions. In the wake of the attacks, Americans were told to go about their business, to return to normalcy in an act of defiance towards those who wished to permanently change us. I think we still need to heed that advice.

     Our remembrance must not be found in our ritualistic obsession with a date. I would wager that a good percentage of Americans might have to think about what day Pearl Harbor occurred. But few would question that the events of that day led us to vigorously defend and promote democracy. Thus, our remembrance must lie in how we treat our fellow human, in how we live our lives on the other 364 days of each year. If we, as a country, can not find a more fitting tribute to those who perished in defense of our freedom, than we are unworthy of their sacrifice.