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09-11-01: 2,996
By KeMari | September 11, 2007
09-11-01: They aren’t lottery numbers; it’s the date of America’s worst and most memorable loss of lives to happen on American soil at the hands of terrorists.
2996: That’s not a year; it’s the number of lives lost because of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, PA.
10048: The phantom zip code of the World Trade Center.
3774: The number of troop casualties of the Iraq War on Terror; nearly 800 more than those lost on 9/11/01.
78,000: An estimate of the Iraqi civilian deaths from violence related to the Iraq War on Terror.
6: Number of years it has been since the terror attacks.
You can do the math, but those are just numbers; hollow digits that represent lives. They aren’t memories; they aren’t fatherless children; husbandless wives; daughterless fathers.
The memory of 9/11/01, not just for Americans, but for the world, is one of horror and pain and anguish. Regardless of who we choose to place the blame upon, lives have been lost and are continuing to be lost every day, as a direct, and indirect, result of the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
So, in spite of the morbid commercialization of today, in spite of the temporary patriotism that seizes so many during this time of year, in spite of all the political nonsense that orbits around this day, DO take the time to remember; don’t gloss over the memory. Don’t treat this as a train wreck you watch, morbidly fascinated, from the sidelines. And most importantly, don’t lose sight of the fact that the loss goes far beyond September 11th’s attacks.
Open your own wounds and throw a little salt in. We need to be humbled; to remember we are vulnerable; to remember we are strong. Not just in relation to 9/11/01, but at all times. Mankind, as a whole, has survived so much. That is what should keep us going; that is what we should take with us as we have our moments of silence today.
So get angry, be sad, be scared, be proud; be anything, but don’t be nothing.
I’d like to share something I wrote last year, on the fifth anniversary. It is my recollection of what I experienced during this time.
Feel free to share your memories, rants, or thoughts about today as well.
Tags: Phattitudes |
this is a perfect tribute.. and reminder of what we all need to be doing.
i am remembering today.
I don’t want to forget, and I’m rather upset that some people do. Remembering is the first and greatest step we must take in order to move on.
I was teaching in a high school classroom outside of Allentown, PA at the time. It truly was an emotional day that left everyone stunned and dazed.
I can’t imagine what those kids in your classroom went through. I’m so glad my children were just babies who didn’t understand. It was an awful thing to witness, horrific really, but I’m glad I did and don’t ever want to forget.
If only the world had more Kemari’s, it would be a better place. Thanks for your poignant post. We need to appreciate that so many lives have been lost - if we can’t spare the time to remember then we’ve lost ours too.
You flatter me WFW
I think I like it.
And you are right, if we choose to forget, then we might as well join those who were lost that day. What good is living if you don’t appreciate your life, if you don’t honor those who lost theirs?
I will never forget. Before school today I explained to my sons why the flag at the school was not “all the way up”. My oldest son was six months old then, he is six now.
Yeah, mine were both babies too. A year old. It bothers me that they’ll never see the towers the way I did. Or sit between the towers and listen to the music that used to play. They’ll never know the exact height, where the stopped, see the city from the Windows of the World.. nothing. None of that. It saddens me so much.
Beautiful tribute, KeMari. I will never forget either… never in my life have I ever had a heart so heavy and shed so many tears for people who I didn’t even know. May God bless us all.
You and me both darlin. I cry every year for people I don’t know who died saving people they don’t know. It breaks my heart every year.
This has been with me all day in a country where most people have forgotten. I don’t have the words to put to it right now, to put to this experience of being here…
but you focused my mind and my soul and I thank you for that.
xoxoxoox