October 08, 2006
And They Are Here, And They Are Us
I think about 9/11 every day. I didn't lose any loved ones there or in Washington, DC or in a field in Pennsylvania. So many things have happened in the past five years because of or in the name of the events of that day that the day itself, that raw morning, have lost their meaning for many people. Strip away the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Michael Moore and Dick Cheney and George Bush and Bill Mahr and remember that morning, when we were so innocent to the world outside and how ugly it had become.
In an indirect way, a question was put forth today in the forums at Podcast Alley: when is it OK to start laughing at 9/11 or, more specifically, some of the silly offshoots of that day? With no further editorializing on my part, please follow the link below to the forum and take a moment to view the video in question. Then, go back and read my response post (I'm the Matt's Today in History guy, in case you didn't know) and tell me what you think.
Posted by Matthew at October 8, 2006 03:26 PMTrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.opaquelucidity.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/891
I decided to post here instead of that forum in the hopes that thread will die. I guess some people will joke about anything, no matter how heart breaking or tragic the event. "Why do they do it?" Who cares. There is no changing those people.
I can still vividly remember that day. My wife and I were on our way to work on I35E headed into Dallas. The radio station interrupted their broadcast to relay the news. When I finally got to work and saw it for myself on t.v. it was almost too much to believe. Then the buildings collapsed and words can't describe how I felt. When those buildings fell I knew there were still people trapped in there but closer to my heart were the firemen that I knew were still in there trying to get those people out. You see, I was a fireman myself for awhile and I know their mindset and will always feel a connection with them. And to watch as hundreds of them died was indescribable. I was numb for long time but then I heard the song "Where were you when the world stopped turning" by Alan Jackson and it all came out. I cried for a long time. As a matter of fact, I still tear up when I think about it. I tried watching a show the other day, I think it was called "Inside the Twin Towers", but I had to turn it because it was too hard to watch. It looked like it would be a great show and hopefully one day I will be able to watch it all the way through. Maybe joking is the only way those people can handle what happened. Maybe if they actually sat down and watched what happened and listened to the survivors’ stories it would be too much for them. I don’t know. And again, I don’t really care. I do know that if I hear someone joke about it and it’s within my ability I will introduce them to the business end of a Halligan tool.
About a year or so ago, my wife and I were going through some old boxes we had in an attempt to get rid of some of the junk that accumulates during a marriage. And after all these years I ran across some pictures I took from the top of the World Trade Center when I visited New York City while in high school. I even had the ticket stub. It’s sad to think that no one will ever be able to stand up there again and look down on the world.
Sorry for rambling.
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at October 10, 2006 12:02 AM