9/11 - I Tried Not To Write About It
September 11th, 2006 | by MadHacktress |Two of my favourite bloggers, Red Tory and The “What Do I Know?” Grit wrote about opposite sides of the same issue - commemoration of 9/11. Having just finished watching 17 minutes of Bush chewing out rhetoric about the war in Iraq, on terror and for the freedoms of everyone (who voted Republican), I just couldn’t not write about 9/11 - believe me, I tried.
RT (Red Tory) contends that the 9/11 vigils, and even vigils in general, are an “annoying trend in the expression of grief”. The Grit, on the other hand, states that: “Al-Queada didn’t just kill 3,000 people. They killed ten times that in terms of hearts, minds and souls. All in one day. [...] And that’s why vigils on the 5th Anniversary of this most tragic event in the 2000’s are a must.”
Me? I sit in the middle.
I think that vigils are a necessary part of remembering. The families, friends and other who were affected by the attacks definitely need to have the outlet, the ability to express their remembrance of the terrible tragedy. But I don’t want to watch it.
My problem isn’t with the vigils, or the vigilant. It’s with the media who feel it necessary to film and broadcast every moment of every one of these events. If politicians want to speechify then that’s their business - keep Katie Couric locked up, for God’s sake. There are literally thousands of hours of footage related to the 9/11 attacks, and every inch of that film has been beamed out across the airways over the past 24-hours.
I personally recognize a number of important dates each year, both of the happy and sad variety. My family lost six people in one day some number of years ago in a tragic boating accident but I don’t expect to have Wolf Blitzer interview me on its anniversary. The date is important to me and my family, not anyone else.
9/11 is always going to be a day that invokes feelings in the hearts of those connected to the attacks. We are going to have to deal with the media exploiting this tragedy for decades to come. April 14th still brings the Titanic survivors out of the woodwork; September 11th, 2081 is going to bring the last surviving children of the victims of 9/11 to the fore as well. It’s just a fact.
I can only hope that, as the years wear on, the vigils become more private and less agrandized. Less a part of politicking and more a part of true remembrance. I hope, too, that eventually it will cease being used as a tool to be wielded by the politicos the world over.
Entry Filed under: General, Pure Opinion
Good answer. Good answer.
Cheers.
TWDIKG
First of all thanks for the nod.
Vigils are fine I suppose, but I prefer to move on. If we’re looking for “closure” or whatever regarding this tragic event, could we please hurry up and find it already.
Perhaps i have a different view. Some people are forgetting the dangers that we risk from EXTREME muslims ( that is the dangerous 10%). Like it or not this group has said ” kill all non-believers.” 9-11 should be a reminder of what we are up against. Remember the first Trade Center attack.