9/12

Do the numbers mean anything?

Perhaps to some elementary school students, they get put down to the lowest common denominator to 3/4. To others it's the middle sequence to the numbers 3/6 and 15/18.
For others, it's "the day after".

The day after what?















9/11, of course. But I guarantee there are those that had to think about it, and that's sad--sad because what happened on 9/11/2001 should be galvanized on the minds of every single American, and more to the point, of why extremism within our borders should be avoided at all costs.

That's right, the toppling of the twin towers, the damage to The Pentagon, the loss of all of those lives and the anguish still being felt on a daily--and for some on an hourly basis. All brought to this land by an extreme group called Al-Qaeda. And, it's hard to believe it's been 8-years since the largest act of terrorism on American soil. And while we live in what many call the "post 9/11 world", many have just gone on with their lives as if it never happened--until they remember it on each anniversary. And that's a shame, although I shouldn't be surprised.

And, I guess that's the reason I didn't write about 9/11 until 9/12. To America's credit, most observed the day in remembrance, most remember exactly where they were when they saw those first images of horror and terror. I know some mourned and others prayed. I know some got angry and others just remembered. Thank goodness our politicians called off the dogs for the day.

And, it's on that note--remembering 9/11/01 as a day that, for the day and for awhile after--we stopped being Democrat and Republican, Black and White (and every other people of color), & men and women, and simply because Americans. We were UNIFIED for awhile. And fast forward 8-years--2-days after President Obama's congressional speech on health care--where both parties showed some very un-unified behavior--and we had a day of peace to remember the single day of the most deadly terrorist violence on our land. And the day after that? We seem to be un-unified all over again. And to me, that's not only sad, but rather annoying.

Annoying because we as Americans can do better, and it's not that we can't, it's that we don't--or won't. Our attention span seems to need collective Ritalin. We act much like the religious person who goes to confess, and then goes out the next day and does all the things all over again that he confessed in his place of worship. And that's to a large degree what 9/12 means today.

Perhaps the day is too painful to remember for more than the anniversary. Perhaps we don't want to think about some of the longer term ramifications that 9/11 brought on to us other than a spot on the stage of world terrorism. But perhaps there's something else that we really don't want to admit, but need to get out in the open, and it's this: 9/11 made our country grow up, and our country was much like the spoiled kid that just never really had to grow up because of his/her wealth and power. Sorry, folks, but this country got caught with its pants down on 9/11 and got punched--and suffered a near TKO at the hands of very well organized extremist group that--although I believe evil--at least knows why it believes what it believes, and has proven to be a formidible enemy to the greatest and most powerful nation in the history of recorded civilization.

But even more than that, I believe that we've forgotten since 9/11 the danger of any such extreme group--a group that is vocal, well organized, and believes that ONLY its narrow point of view is acceptable--and that everybody else is condemned to eternal damnation. Yes, that pretty much describes Al-Qaeda, doesn't it? OK. But it also pretty much describes a couple of extremes within our borders: the far right-wing nutjobs and the far-left bleeding heart progressives. Yeah, now 9/11 really hurts, doesn't it? We hate what happened to us, yet we're becoming what we hate. So, here's another reason to stand one's ground against the polarization of America! Extremes are dangerous, folks. And, all you need as a reminder is 9/11.

So, as 9/12 winds down and 9/13 looms, I encourage all to not only remember 9/11 for what it was, but spawned it, and not only avoiding it happening again, but squelching the seed of extremist attitudes which spawned the terrorism in the first place.

And, that means remembering beyond 9/11. And 9/12.