Divided We Weep
My God, how we have failed these people.
Today is the 19th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, 19 years since I stood across the street from the World Trade Center and watched hijacked jetliners crash into the North and South Towers.
Every year since that nightmare I do my very best to return to the spot where I stood on Liberty Plaza in 2001, outside a now-shuttered Brooks Brothers store, and pray for the people we lost.
That was my father’s 80th birthday, a beautiful late summer day without a cloud in the sky.
I was working at Goldman Sachs and the plan was to go home, meet up with my sister and take our father to dinner.
And then the gates of Hell opened up.
I couldn’t get down there today because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is especially painful since my office is located in the financial district and under normal circumstances I would be within walking distance of the ceremonies.
I did listen to the reading of the victims’ names on television. I had to do that much and, as always it brings tears to my eyes when I think of the lives behind the names, the lost dreams, and the shattered families.
But even this most sacred event has been marred by controversy, when a decision to use pre-recorded voices this year due to the pandemic outraged a group of victims’ loved ones who held a separate event with a live reading of the names.
Dueling memorials? We can’t even mourn our dead without fighting.
Every year I hear the speeches about how the victims will never be forgotten, how we must learn a lesson from that terrible day, that we should love and respect each other.
And then every year humanity seems to take another step backward.
The 9/11 attacks were used as a reason to launch the disastrous war in Iraq and to justify everything from tax cuts for corporations to the repeal of environmental laws.
Today the country is more divided than it has ever been in my lifetime.
Worse than during the Vietnam War; worse than after George Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” debacle.
We are a house divided and well on our way to becoming a house demolished.
The presidential election campaign is become more bitter, more hateful with every passing day, the economy is collapsing; and the response to the coronavirus, which, like 9/11, should bring us together, has been used as yet another political wedge to drive us further apart.
And I'm not excusing myself by any means. I still carry grudges, I still complain about all sorts of picayune crap when one of the most important lessons of 9/11 was to be grateful for every second of life.
White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci says we have to hunker down for the winter to beat Covid-19.
But we’ll never escape all this hatred, no matter where we hide.
Today is the 19th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, 19 years since I stood across the street from the World Trade Center and watched hijacked jetliners crash into the North and South Towers.
Every year since that nightmare I do my very best to return to the spot where I stood on Liberty Plaza in 2001, outside a now-shuttered Brooks Brothers store, and pray for the people we lost.
That was my father’s 80th birthday, a beautiful late summer day without a cloud in the sky.
I was working at Goldman Sachs and the plan was to go home, meet up with my sister and take our father to dinner.
And then the gates of Hell opened up.
I couldn’t get down there today because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is especially painful since my office is located in the financial district and under normal circumstances I would be within walking distance of the ceremonies.
I did listen to the reading of the victims’ names on television. I had to do that much and, as always it brings tears to my eyes when I think of the lives behind the names, the lost dreams, and the shattered families.
But even this most sacred event has been marred by controversy, when a decision to use pre-recorded voices this year due to the pandemic outraged a group of victims’ loved ones who held a separate event with a live reading of the names.
Dueling memorials? We can’t even mourn our dead without fighting.
Every year I hear the speeches about how the victims will never be forgotten, how we must learn a lesson from that terrible day, that we should love and respect each other.
And then every year humanity seems to take another step backward.
The 9/11 attacks were used as a reason to launch the disastrous war in Iraq and to justify everything from tax cuts for corporations to the repeal of environmental laws.
Today the country is more divided than it has ever been in my lifetime.
Worse than during the Vietnam War; worse than after George Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” debacle.
We are a house divided and well on our way to becoming a house demolished.
The presidential election campaign is become more bitter, more hateful with every passing day, the economy is collapsing; and the response to the coronavirus, which, like 9/11, should bring us together, has been used as yet another political wedge to drive us further apart.
And I'm not excusing myself by any means. I still carry grudges, I still complain about all sorts of picayune crap when one of the most important lessons of 9/11 was to be grateful for every second of life.
White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci says we have to hunker down for the winter to beat Covid-19.
But we’ll never escape all this hatred, no matter where we hide.
Comments
I did the same thing, Rob. I got up very early yesterday morning and did some food shopping before the memorial services started and was so lucky that I got home at the exact moment they started reading the names. And yes, I got tears in my eyes. Lots of them. In fact, I watched several different 9/11 specials and documentaries throughout the day and sobbed. That's the one day I allow myself to grieve. And grieve deeply.
And you're right, we seem to be more divided than ever. This is why I no longer expose myself to the news. And I don't do that to avoid what's happening. I do it to avoid being "programmed" into believing that people are all about "hate." And it has helped me tremendously to stay positive during this time in America, walking the streets, looking into the eyes of other people, and smiling at them; sharing light.
Thank you for this post and for inspiring me to share mine.
And please tell New York that I said, " I love you!"
Have a great weekend, buddy!
Thanks for your thoughts on this. I really think you're on to something about keeping away from the news.
Obviously we want to stay informed, but there's a ton of vitriol being spewed on cable TV and social media that we should avoid.
This kind of content is only intended to crank up the hate, and we have far too much of that alreay.
Take care, buddy!
By the way, I am a first-time visitor who stopped in from Ron's blog. I enjoy your writing and will be reading some earlier posts.
Yes, it's quite disheartening that even the most solemn occasions can be caught up in controversy. Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever learn.
Take care!
First of all, welcome to my blog and thank you ever so much for stopping by!
And I agree with you about the pandemic. The tagline "we're all in this together is being tossed around pretty freely, but for the most part it's still just talk.
Take care!