Tuesday, September 11, 2012

9/11 Chat.

I have already written about where I was and what I was doing when September 11th happened.

I am 11 years older.
I am 11 years wiser.
I am 11 years desensitized.

That sounds bad. Desensitized. However it is the truth for the majority of us. 10 years ago, if we heard "Twin Towers" or "9/11" we would have probably shed more tears, a year later.
Now.
those words are just adjectives used to define war, high gas prices, new normalcy.
Don't think I am callus.
It's not just me.
It's the way it has turned out..
I have heard many a comedian make jokes, some even crude about that terrible day.
And the day I heard the first joke, I realized...it was no longer "too soon".
There was enough time for people to process and heal and now make light of it. Sometimes making light of things helps with continual healing, better to push down the emotions and make a joke at someones else expense.
The new generation of adults coming through were just little kids, and as kids they didn't have the worry and concern. They really didn't know how simple life was before. It was easy. It was less international. It was safe.
Can you imagine in another 11 years... that generation of adults will be completely oblivious to the emotional impact and just see 9/11 as a passage in a history book. The turning of an Era.
As sad as it is. That's where we are headed.
We can pledge to never forget, but we are not committing to never letting go of the emotions that blanketed the entire nation.
And that letting go of emotion is what turns this into a history passage rather than an emotional driven desire to see the United States rise up victorious and get whatever restitution we think we need.
Or did we already get the restitution and now we are comfortable with the new normal....

Don't confuse all this with my lack of appreciation.
I appreciate each and every person who is serving this country and sacrificing their time, family, and lives for me and keeping me as safe as they can.
I have a lot of people in my family who have served or is currently serving in the military. And I couldn't imagine knowing they died in their service pursuit.
Thousands and thousands of families are without loved ones because of 9/11, between the actual deaths on the day of, or the deaths in combat trying to defend..... and for that, I have sorrow...and for that I will try and not take for granted the liberties I have daily....
but
again
this event is well on it's way to the history books, and like Vietnam or any of the World Wars, emotions will soon be fleeting.
The new normal is here....and the new desensitization is too.

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