No matter what your take is
No matter what your take is, in regards to the “ground zero mosque” or “burn a koran day,” on this, the ninth anniversary of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks, if these “debates” or current affairs are going to be the primary focus of this day, if we, as western society, are going to “politicize” this day to promote our own political agendas, then we're all in the wrong. For too long the subject of 9/11 in the mainstream media, in our communities, in our households, has only focused on the events and legacy of that pivotal day. When observing this sombre article of our modern history, we should not solely focus on how those lost that day perished, if at all, but rather on how they lived.
We – in western society – have wasted so much time, blood and potential focusing on what dehumanized us that day in the last nine years... If we had realized what did humanize us before that day, what humanized those who perished – the day to day lives those 3,000 innocent people lead, their friendships, family, careers and aspirations –, what all of us as a society here in the progressive, fair and just western civilization, maybe things would been a lot different than they are today. While we in Canada have stayed true to these realizations for the most part, I unfortunately cannot say the same for some of our oldest and loyalist partners and friends of ours. I say this not to be critical or condescending, but in an effort to help our friends and partners’, -- our neighbours -- in this illustrious, emboldened and uncontested Western Civilization of ours... our neighbours who seem to be in need of a helping hand on the long road back to normalcy ahead. There are those among us who would cut and run, but we’ve come this far, albeit we’ve made a few wrong turns along the way.
I will reiterate that if we here in Canada, or if the populace of any other western nation, neglects to realize the thousands of other days that consisted of the lives of each and every individual who perished in the events of that day... If we fail to take into account the preceding events that humanized each and every one of the victims of that day... If we only focus on how those three thousand innocent souls died instead of who they were and how they lived... then for those of us who choose only remember the events of that one day -- the images, audio and video coming out of New York City, Washington D.C. and Stonycreek Township PA, -- each day anew will be more or less a repeat of the that day going back to September 11th 2001; a seemingly never-ending cycle of raw emotion, shock and confusion rendering us struggling to try and make sense out of something that made no sense. Over time our bearings and principals and senses of who we are erode away. Those responsible for the events of that day should be held accountable for their heinous and reprehensible actions, yes; however, the quest for justice should be gone about out of a desire to seek peace and a sense of closure while maintaining a respect for the rule of law. Any future quests for justice should not out stem of a raw, reckless and impulsive craving for retribution and revenge.
For those of us who observed in horror the unfolding events of that day, we will never forget. We will never forget those events and we haven’t forgotten. Yet we have forgotten, or haven’t done as good of a job remembering, what defined us as a society, as the mighty and ever prevailing Western civilization, in the days, weeks, months and years before September 11th 2001. In doing so, or in not doing so, we have forsaken the days, weeks, months and years after September the 11th 2001; a pattern that will continue for as long as we in western society, as a whole, continue to only take into account what occurred on September 11th 2001 and September 11th 2001 alone.
So on this, the ninth anniversary of the September 11th 2001 attacks, never forget: Never forget how those lost lived, never forget what did, and what still does define us as a society. That’s just my two cents anyway...
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