9/11/2021 was a particularly sad and depressing day, but not for the reasons you many think. If you are reading this, you probably have not forgotten 9/11/2001. You are probably like me. You watched some FOX News coverage. You have listened to podcasts. You have watched online videos. All of them remembering 9/11. What else was there though?
For the week before and all the way through 9/11 I searched the internet, read the local community paper and simply drove around looking for memorial services, tributes and gatherings trying to find a way to participate in the solemn remembrance of that tragic day in American history. I was expecting to find numerous events similar to the Tea Party Rallies. Large events with guest speakers, reading of names, long parades of fire trucks and other first responders and similar tributes.
Instead I found virtually nothing. Sure, I could have driven about an hour south to Castle Rock, CO to see a memorial made from a piece of the world trade center and take a moment for “personal reflection”. I could have driven a few hours to Broomfield for a small event planned there, or gone to Red Rocks Amphitheater for the stair climb. Other everyday events did include some “moment of silence”, or a small tribute prior to the main event like a football game. Nothing of the magnitude that the 20th anniversary of 9/11 should have been.
I would have preferred to see a Chili Cookoff or festival that diminished the solemnity of the day over what I saw – general indifference and apathy
2 replies on “9/11/2021: Have we forgotten?”
It might have been a “covid thing,” because there are a lot of organizations around me that are still scared of a treatable virus with a 99% survival rate, and people are still uncertain how to have basic human interactions after being badgered with “doing normal things is literally murder” for a year+. History Channel did a pretty good job remembering with many respectful documentaries about it during prime time, and my wife found a lot of specials through our hulu live subscription promoted on the front page (she watched most of it on demand, not sure how much was “live TV on demand” and how much was “hulu special”), so there definitely a lot of remembering going on. Hopefully on the 25th when we have an actual leader in the oval office we’ll be remembering the 25th anniversary of that declaration of war and celebrating the complete end to the Talaban.
I hope you are right and perhaps I should extend the benefit of the doubt. Maybe efforts were made but permits and restrictions prevented such events. I am taking this as a call to action to be more involved. Instead of waiting for someone to start something I can participate in, I should be doing what I can to get the ball rolling. The 21st anniversary may not have as much mental clout as the 20th, but perhaps there will be more options available and more can be done at a local level.