I have been struggling this last year to write anything of worth. I just do not seem to have it in me since I went out on retirement leave last October to put thoughts to words. Writing my annual 9/11 piece seems to be just as difficult a process as anything else I have to to put down over the last few months. Do not get me wrong, the thoughts are there in my head, the act of getting them down has been failing though.
In my first year of civilian life I had hoped to write this one with just a little bit different perspective to influence my words. After all I started this whole thing three, almost four, years ago to help clear the anger out of my head and do something a little more constructive with my limited creative side than simply allowing dark thoughts to take up space and fester in my head. At the end of the day, if it were not for 9/11 and all that has changed because of that day I do not think I would have entered this medium as a form of therapy. Chances are good I would have never realized that I needed some sort of outlet and like many other Americans would have lived a much different life.
Something I have come to realize in the 14 years since the attacks is that we not only need to remember what happened that day and those we lost, we need to also remember the person we were prior to that day as well. We all changed, for some it was a significant change, while for others it was hardly noticeable. Some of us in the ensuing years have come to realize the type of person we really were, while others, too many others, have become lost in themselves and barely resemble the who that they were before the attacks.
Many, too many, of my Brothers and Sisters have chosen to end their story long before the last chapter is written. It is commonly accepted that 22 Veterans per day end their lives. 22 souls who could no longer wander, trying to get back to who they were or come to grips with their experiences but were unable to. It may be that for some, they either could not remember the events that led to their experiences nor the thoughts and reasons why they took those steps in the days and years after. It is possible for many it is the polar opposite, they remember all too well how they were changed that day and forever are tied to their actions in the ensuing years, unable to make a break away from their personal changes or simply unable to accept them.
9/11 changed many things for many people. Some of us stayed at war until we left the service; for many they remain at war even though they are a long way away from their days in combat. The country latched on to a short-term, intense patriotism, supporting revenge, justice, vengeance or any other adjective to describe what has continued as a conflict without end. I do not blame anyone for this, we all lost someone or something of ourselves that day and America is known as a nation you do want to have to defend your backyard from. We need to remember that day because it is the day we all moved as a nation, from who we were to who we are now.
The lives of our current and future generations was radically altered in the days since 9/11. After the initial closeness and drawing together, we have exploded outward and become polarizing and extreme. The thing that initially brought us together in our grief, morning and collective desire for vengeance has also shattered our old way of life, turning it into something almost unrecognizable at times. We always disagreed, but eventually there was some form of compromise for the country. Now there is a hostile polarity from which compromise is only reached from a position of dominance and for the good of the party. The ignorant have a greater voice than the wise, who are often labeled in the antithesis of what is considered an American. People who believe everyone should have a fair shake at accessing anything as anyone are called socialist while people who would have you believe the belief system is the only way and it is how we should be governed are totally ignorant of the fact that is the same philosophy as those who decided to attack us that day.
We do need to remember. The many lives lost. The friends and families of those lost. Those who witnessed the acts live or on television. The heroes who lost their lives moving to the destruction to help others to live. The passengers who chose a farmers field rather than to be used as a fourth weapon of destruction.
Most of all we all need to remember who we were before that day, individually and collectively. We may not have been any better people than we are today, but we are all radically altered in the years that have followed. Just a couple of months after the 15th Anniversary of 9/11 next year we will be choosing the next leader of the country. We need to decide whether we want to continue the cycles and dynasties that we have allowed or if we want to try something new and see where it goes.
Remember the events of 9/11 and the people we lost that day and in years since. History will judge our actions since then as a nation and whether that pivotal event portended our downfall or our ascension. Patriots Day is a day of reflection brought about by noble actions in response to a most ignoble event. Take a moment in your busy day today and think about that day, the memory is yours, reflection is good. Time may close some wounds but it does not mean they are healed.
No Kool-aid Zone 