9/11: Maybe we should forget a little bit.

sirfrogsworth:

I just opened my Instagram feed and was inundated with ashen firefighters and burning buildings. “Never forget” is tagged on each post. 

I’m not sure I need to see those images again. I’m not sure they serve a purpose other than to make people sad or angry. I feel like we can honor those we lost without watching them die on repeat. 

I don’t want to forget the sacrifices of the first responders. I don’t want to forget the tragic loss of life. But sometimes I think about how our attachment to this one event has had disastrous consequences. Maybe it’s time to let go of some of this national pain. Maybe it’s time to let go of our fear. Remembering every detail and reliving every emotion and forcing ourselves to feel this pain again does not seem healthy. 

We’ve fought wars. We’ve spent over a trillion dollars fighting those wars. We’ve put in place “security theater” in all of our airports that seems mostly ineffectual. We’ve made racial profiling commonplace. We’ve become scared and intolerant of over a billion people for the actions and ideals of a few. 

Maybe we should forget a little bit. 

Today is hard for anyone who looks like they could be Muslim. Moreso than any other day. I’ve heard stories of people who call in sick to work and just stay in their homes. It’s hard for them to feel safe on this day. I had one Indian friend who told me of the glaring looks and under-the-breath comments he would receive going out into the world. And there were even a few comments made not under breath. Some folks see this as a consequence-free racism day. And their racism doesn’t even need to be accurate. If you’re brown I guess that’s good enough. 

Maybe we should forget a little bit. 

Terrorism is all about instilling fear. And I think that was probably the most successful aspect of this attack. People are now petrified of terrorism even though they are more likely to be struck by lightning while eaten by a shark. Yes, we should be vigilant. We should take precautions. We should enact common-sense ideas to help protect us from another tragedy. But we’ve allowed this one event to cancel our right to privacy. We gave into this fear and allowed the Patriot Act to be a law of our land. 

Maybe we should forget a little bit. 

Extremists are a plague on this world. Our global community should be trying to address this problem. But I don’t know if rampant, indiscriminate violence is working. Yes, sometimes we need to fight, but we need to be careful about how we approach that option. It should be rare and only when necessary. And we should be damn sure about who we are fighting. We kill civilians with drone strikes and call them “collateral damage” as if that somehow makes it okay. Our indifference is then used to radicalize and recruit more people. 

Empathy could be so much more powerful. I think sometimes people forget that most victims of Muslim extremists are Muslims themselves. Rather than painting them all with the same brush, maybe we could reach out our hand and help those in dire circumstances. Instead, we turn away refugees and ban Muslims from even traveling here. Sorry, America is closed. 

Maybe we should forget a little bit. 

I think I will be taking the day off social media. Those images and events are burned into my mind. Being told to never forget isn’t necessary. I’m already there. 

I will send my positive thoughts of first responders into the universe. I will think about the families who lost so much. And I will hope that people of color stay safe on this day.