Remembering Without Re-Experiencing 9/11 636.1
With every passing year, the anniversary of 9/11 becomes more muted and less painful.
So it is and should be with excruciating memories.
Tragic events dot the lives of all of us – the death of a loved one, the end of a marriage, the loss of a home or business – and it’s sometimes difficult to resist the temptation to emotionally re-experience the heartache. It’s as if we must suffer all over again to prove we care.
But in the end, self-inflicted suffering is pointless and damaging. We’re entitled to live happy lives, and that requires us to let go of the grief of terrible times. That doesn’t mean we forget them.
Regarding September 11th, it’s important to pause to honor with reverence and gratitude the victims and the noble efforts of those who struggled mightily to rescue them.
We should also reflect on four lessons worth remembering:
- Life is fragile. We’re all vulnerable. We should live each day knowing it could be our last.
- Every single life is precious. We should never diminish or demean the profound tragedy of lost lives by thinking of casualties in impersonal or statistical terms.
- The capacity we saw to care about and cry for strangers proves we’re not like the cold-hearted bigots who caused this calamity. We must never allow our anger or fear to turn us in that direction.
- While we should defend ourselves, the fundamental principles that define our nation require us to be more humane, more just, and more forgiving than those who want to harm us.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
What are the lessons you’ve drawn from 9/11?
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Comments
Michael, just one thing jumped out at me about this commentary. I agree with most of what was said, but we are not entitled to live happy lives. We are blessed to live in the USA where we have the best opportunity in the world to pursue happiness guaranteed by our Constitution. But that is not a guarantee of happiness. Small point maybe, but big issue.
Posted by: Eric | September 11, 2009 10:55 AM
I totally agree with Eric's comment. And, indeed, your four lessons are excellent. Another lesson I learned from 9/11 is that although we can be resilient when faced with horror such as this attack (or combat or other violence), some crumble emotionally and spiritually and never regain their stability. This may be the greatest tragedy of all, not only dying physically but becoming dead among the living.
Posted by: Kathleen | September 12, 2009 6:05 AM
I enjoy your commentaries and take many things to heart. But the people who crashed the planes on 9/11 were not "cold-hearted bigots." Those men were evil, plain and simple, and I wish you would identify them as evildoers. Thank you
Posted by: patricia schaber | September 13, 2009 2:02 PM
Your comments about 9/11 are misguided from a military viewpoint. There were eight years between the two attacks on the WTC and it is now eight years since the second attack. You do not understand the mentality of the Jihadists. We should not be forgetting or trying to be humane but preparing ourselves operationally and emotionally for the next attack while at the same time attempting to neutralize our sworn enemies. You may be able to forgive those evil murderers, but I will not. I will remain vigilant and kill them before they can kill us.
Posted by: James Callos | September 18, 2009 4:04 AM
Thank you for your comments on reliving 9/11. You nailed it. Let's remember it in reverence; we do not need to relive it with the news replaying the entire events of the tragic day. There is something unhealthy and unproductive with that, and your comments nailed it on the head.
Thank you.
Posted by: Lori Beliveau | September 18, 2009 9:08 AM
I think James Callos is making a valid point.
Defense is absolutely necessary in these times and being prepared is accepting the fact that evil lurks and must be taken care of before more harm is inflicted on us. I look at these actions as brought on by jealousy of the lifestyle enjoyed in US.
I have gone through a personal tragedy where my 19-year-old girl was destroyed by a most evil man after barely 17 months of marriage leaving behind a 5-month-old Natasha. He burnt her alive and unfortunately she survived in that state for more than 5 days. The man walks! He got married again and has two more children but the second wife is no more happy than my own daughter, and I fear at times if getting away with it would embolden the man into hurting my granddaughter who lives with him.
An incident like this was unheard of amongst the Zarathosti people, and I pray it will never be repeated.
I fear forgetting or forgiving has no effect on those who practice evil.
Posted by: minnie | September 20, 2009 6:37 PM
Your column is very inspiring to me. The events of 9/11 should not be forgotten but rather learned from.
Posted by: Greg Domeier | September 22, 2009 2:04 PM