Today is September 11. It is a day that creates mixed feelings for many of us. Flags fly everywhere, but some are lowered to half mast. Everywhere you look people are saying how proud that they are to be an American and in the next breath they are saying that are sorry for someone's loss. I had a teacher who thought all of the tributes were bad because they were frightening the next generation who wasn't even alive on 9/11/01.
I have my own mixed feelings about Patriot Day. I am proud to live in a country where people are allowed to speak their minds and where knowledge is held sacred and is easily accessed. I am lucky enough to live in an area where people are not only proud of where they live but also of the diversity that they have cultured. They are fiercely proud of their local heroes and the beauty of the country. I am also concerned that my country thinks so highly of itself that they often close their minds to other ideas. I worry that we have made popularity more important than other valuable traits. I worry that our culture is sometimes too homogeneous, and I fear for those taking a stand against the crowd. I fear that we accept majority truths more than we search for facts.
I remember 9/11/01. I remember that I worked that day with two people from New York who had to make sure their families were okay, one family member was a police officer. I remember watching the news with friends that I worked with. I remember that we had very few customers that day because many people stayed home to watch their tv or wait by the phone. I remember that the company I worked for had a store in the World Trade Center and announced as quickly as possible that all workers had been accounted for and everyone was okay. I remember hearing story after story of heroism and sorrow. I remember the president shaking his fist at the sky and saying "We will get those that did this." I remember thinking that it was a powerful political move but it's not that simple. I have a Twin Tower calendar from 2000. I can't throw it out, but I can't display it ether my feeling are too strong to do one and not strong enough to do the other. It sits in the top of my spare closet still in the plastic.
It is good to hear people's stories about 9/11. The United States is nothing but a multitude of individual stories. We are not just letting a date loom over our heads because there are stories of heroism and stories of remembrance. It is good to have dates that make us stop and think. Time sweeps us away with all of its necessities. Take a moment to think, but then remember that it is a new day and a day to celebrate births, anniversaries and enjoy the day because every day is always about people than a news report.
