Of course we’ll never forget
There are a million ways September 11, 2001 changed life as we know it, and we’ve adapted to those changes we encounter every day.
But that bumper sticker I’ve seen on cars, “Never Forget”, and the same message on the backs of jackets or painted on windows…..what that translates to for individuals depends on their own sensibilities and character.
What it means for us as a nation continues to evolve.
A USA Today poll found that more than two thirds of Americans view 9/11 as the most memorable news event of their lifetime. Far from pressing it neatly between the pages of a heavy book, to be retrieved only on special occasions, the day in memory has gained in power and urgency. Nearly one third said the event changed the way they lived — which is up from 18% five years ago, as though it was possible to see the change, or at least safe to admit it without having to swat away charges that “the terrorists win” if you do anything differently…
Some people fear complacency; others fear forgetting. Others have only limited space in memory, and the day is overwritten by the events that followed, by war and hurricane and every family’s private trials. But the record can’t be erased, any more than a year can have 364 days, and anything can bring it back full screen, like a glance at a skyline, a siren in the distance, a prayer that comes as reflex as you walk to work and remember the day they never came home.
Right after it happened, the attacks on 9/11, the churches filled and most threw open their doors at additional hours, rang their bells, held more services. I went to Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral at mid-day that week and found people spilling out the back doors and gathered, huddled, on the steps, some crying and all fervently seeking solace and….one assumes….praying. Back then, people were saying they would re-commit to attend church and practice their faith and do volunteer work that helps others, because that’s how we respond to diasasters and tragedies – not just in this country, but as human persons.
Today, the memorial services are being covered across the television networks and print media offer a range of reporting and analysis on where things stand now in the aftermath of that 9/11. Of course we’ll never forget. But what does remembering mean?
I think it means a personal conviction that peace has to start in your heart, and that we have an obligation to work for it. No exceptions.