I Can See Your House From Here - Archives
vol 2 number 51
While you're reading this, my anger and irritation have subsided. So, too, in all likelihood, has the majority of the remembrance and celebration intended by Bush's newly declared Patriot Day. But knowing that it's a day late isn't going to stop me (since when has anything stopped me from venting?).
It started for me six months ago, realizing that there would be an anniversary to September 11th. There are some things that I immediately envisioned as appropriate, especially for those who had family or friends die in the World Trade Center destruction, Flight 93, or the Pentagon. Most of these involved solitary actions -- lighting a candle, saying a prayer, visiting a grave or recognizing a moment of silence. These all strike me as perfectly reasonable and rational things, perhaps even on a nationwide scale. But I knew better.
So much better, in fact, that I accurately told everyone who would listen that we would be in for not twenty four hours but days and maybe even weeks of television specials, reruns of the footage, interviews with politicians, and documentaries on what Islam really is and the building of the Twin Towers. And just like anything else, before the anniversary day is even here, I (along with most of the people that I've talked to about it) are sick beyond words of the entire thing, so much so that we've lost the importance of the whole thing. Because recognizing the anniversary is not about the falling of the towers, the subsequently instable economy, or the fact that most of the Middle East really doesn't like us; it's about remembering those who died on that day, and celebrating their lives.
And if we're going whole-hog in the media reliving this whole mess, how do you think the families and friends of the victims of the Murrah building feel right now? 'Forgotten' probably only scratches the surface.
Patriot Day. I'm not set in stone on this, but that may very well be the most hideous name for a holiday, given the context. Sure, it recognizes the first attack on American soil by foreign machinations since Pearl Harbor (see, Oklahoma -- you should have made sure that McVeigh was from another country). But the people that died that day weren't anymore or less patriotic than I or any other American prior to 9/11. I'm sure there were some people that bled red, sweated white, and cried blue, just as I'm sure that there were some who didn't think twice about their country at all. But then we roll it up in context -- it's Us versus Them, the Mighty America against the Evil Godless Heathen Arabs, Uncle Sam versus Uncle Bin Laden.
Remembrance Day strikes me as more in line with the only good reason to recognize that day. I certainly see the point in the declaration of some sort of national holiday -- this was the most devastating loss of American life in one single event, to the best of my knowledge, and that should never be forgotten. But rather than focus on the lives and accomplishments of those taken from us, the media will take the easy ratings road, walking the line between tasteful and offensive as close to the edge as possible to get the higher ratings. After all, who wants to sit through a full day of short bios and images of the people that died that day, when you can flip to CNN and practically relive the entire gut-wrenching day, minute for minute (only with the boring parts edited out)?
If there's anyone out there that doesn't see the government people calling it Patriot Day to help get the morale of the country behind it's impending war machine, you're missing a big part of the picture.
And then Laura Bush... urgh. Woman, get back to the fund-raisers and the public appearances, okay? She told a Spanish network last week, "Don't let your children see the images, especially on Sept. 11, when you know it'll probably be on television again and again -- the plane hitting the building or the buildings falling." Now, I'm not advocating propping your kids in front of the FOX news channel, ClockWork Orange style, forcing them to watch all twenty fours hours of carnage and terror all over again, but why would we want to shelter our kids from this? We'll let them watch the WWF week after week, drive movies like XXX to the top of the box office, but the real thing is too much?
Guess what, folks: this is the world you brought the little fetuses into. Might as well welcome them to it.
I'm no parent -- and I can hear some of you out there, with your "obviously!" and "thank goodness for that!" -- but that entire concept makes no sense to me. This is the sort of thing that happens here and now, whether we like it or not. If there is nothing else for the young to take away from a recognition and reliving of the worst day in American history in my lifetime -- my parents' too, I'd imagine -- it's a history lesson, as it happens. In Israel, people die horrible deaths every day, over the same sorts of ultimately petty and greedy motives that were behind the 9/11 attacks. All across Africa, there are guerilla armies that commit atrocities on innocent civilians in the name of whatever their cause of the moment is. Here in America -- in cities big and small and in-between -- people get shot over tennis shoes, beaten to death over sexual preference, stabbed for a couple of bucks, dragged down Texas highways because of their skin color. This is the world we live in, folks, even if you might think you're personally removed from it in your concrete castles with Armani suits and a cozy desk job in the suburbs. These are the things your kids are going to run into sooner rather than later, and you might as well be there to explain it to them instead of letting their idiot friends do all the teaching.
And so I write this on the 9th, two days in advance, seriously considering staying home on Wednesday and playing video games for the whole day. I just flipped past CNN to make sure the Laura Bush quote was right, and I saw a brief mention of some of the WTC victims, talking about how they got to say goodbye to loved ones while so many others never did. That's exactly the sort of thing that should be put out there -- not images and words that might be twisted to further the mindless hatred of Arabs, Muslims, all people different; not war propaganda to boost Bush's approval rating; not a reminder of the worst day in the collective American memory; but instead, a reminder of the people that were lost, of the skills and characteristics and emotions that were stolen on that day, and a little something to let those spirits live on a little longer.
If you want a Patriot Day, let's honor all those people that died fighting in the Gulf, in Afghanistan, in Russia, in African countries so small I can't believe they have names. Those are the patriots. Otherwise, let's not cheapen the three thousand plus lives lost on September 11th. If you can't think of a better name -- well, just let it go.
Remembering solemnly.