Six years ago...
Six years ago, life went on.
Shell-shocked though we all were, we kept going to class or work, kept moving forward with our lives. Some of us took some time out of our days to do something we thought could help in some minute way; I went to the blood clinic and waited for hours for my turn to give back.
But pretty much, for so many of us, day-to-day life hadn't changed much. As Jeff said in yesterday's excellent post, we had a much greater awareness of the possibility of a terrorist attack disrupting our lives, but really the odds of such a thing occurring had not altered.
No, on September 12, 2001, the citizens of our country did what we have always done best: we worked, we played, we loved, we laughed, we rocked. Because we're Americans, dammit. That's just how we roll.
None of which is to downplay the atrocities of September 11, 2001. But I prefer to remember how brightly we as a nation shined in the days that followed. If our lives had truly drastically altered due to the deplorable actions of a few douchebags, it would have been like handing them exactly what they wanted. As citizens in the strongest, most freedom-loving nation in the world, we said the hell with that.
And as long as we keep saying it, the terrorists can never win.
Song lyric of the day:
"The firefighters hose me down
I don't care, I'll burn out anyhow"
- Sonic Youth, Incinerate
Shell-shocked though we all were, we kept going to class or work, kept moving forward with our lives. Some of us took some time out of our days to do something we thought could help in some minute way; I went to the blood clinic and waited for hours for my turn to give back.
But pretty much, for so many of us, day-to-day life hadn't changed much. As Jeff said in yesterday's excellent post, we had a much greater awareness of the possibility of a terrorist attack disrupting our lives, but really the odds of such a thing occurring had not altered.
No, on September 12, 2001, the citizens of our country did what we have always done best: we worked, we played, we loved, we laughed, we rocked. Because we're Americans, dammit. That's just how we roll.
None of which is to downplay the atrocities of September 11, 2001. But I prefer to remember how brightly we as a nation shined in the days that followed. If our lives had truly drastically altered due to the deplorable actions of a few douchebags, it would have been like handing them exactly what they wanted. As citizens in the strongest, most freedom-loving nation in the world, we said the hell with that.
And as long as we keep saying it, the terrorists can never win.
Song lyric of the day:
"The firefighters hose me down
I don't care, I'll burn out anyhow"
- Sonic Youth, Incinerate
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