Seems like 9-11 remembrance overdone

[CathyA]

Don't get me wrong, what happened on 9-11 was horrific, and I can understand how we all should never forget the loss. But it seems like this 10th anniversary is so overdone on a local and national level. I wish we didn't need to overdo everything that ever happens.

[Alan]

I don't think so. 9-11 was our generations Pearl Harbor and changed many of us forever. Never forget, never forget, never forget.

[creaker]

My concern with the 9/11 remembrance is it kind of overlooks everything that followed - which was much, much worse in terms of destruction and loss of lives, and had many, many more fallen heroes than 9/11 itself. And is still very much in progress.

A friend's son was maybe like around 10 or so during 9/11 - he was just recently deployed to Afghanistan.

[Marianne]

I don't think so. 9-11 was our generations Pearl Harbor and changed many of us forever. Never forget, never forget, never forget.

I couldn't have said it better.

[catherine]

I certainly think it's natural for us to want to commemorate 9-11. We have all been so personally touched by it, whether we knew someone who died, whether we had a hard time sleeping afterwards wondering what the implications were for our safety in our country, whether we have been hassled by the TSA in airports--it has changed us down to the way we think. I was watching CNN replays of the news that day, and they were trying to figure out what it was that hit the first tower. Then when the second plane hit, the anchor was musing, "funny, it must be some mess-up in the navigational equipment that would make two planes hit the World Trade Center at the same time." I remember thinking the same thing as I was watching it unfold that morning--I thought, "weird to fly into a building on a crystal clear day." Terrorism had no place in our frame of reference. Now, we hear a car backfire and we think "terrorism!"

BUT, that being said, I do think it's a shame we do not have special news shows in which family members can read out the names of the brave servicemen and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places; it's a shame that I couldn't even find a list of victims of Katrina on the internet. That's the only thing that bothers me.

Otherwise, I do think it's appropriate on this particular anniversary to reflect on that day--10 years... seems like an eternity in some ways.

[frugal-one]

The small town that I live in has the center blocked off with police and fire trucks and exploded sounds when the towers or planes crashed. At first I thought we were under attack!!! I think this was WAY overdone.

[domestic goddess]

I think there is something wrong with a commemoration of those who died in the Twin Towers that ignores those who have died on foreign soil afterwards. We have lost many more servicemen and women in the Middle East, and they receive barely a tip of the hat. First responders are "not invited" to some of the events.
I can't help but wonder how other countries commemorate the anniversary of US bombs targeting their lands, killing their citizens. Who do they invite? Who do they omit? For how long do they carry hatred in their hearts?

[Gina]

I think it's a bit tone deaf to be discussing how 9-11 is being remembered on the actual anniversary of it. People were affected by it in different ways and to different degrees, and for years following - and for years to come. Definitely a worthwhile conversation, but tomorrow would have been soon enough.

[iris lily]

...I can't help but wonder how other countries commemorate the anniversary of US bombs targeting their lands, killing their citizens. Who do they invite? Who do they omit? For how long do they carry hatred in their hearts?

To key off what you said, the "hatred in their hearts" isn't necessary the issue. On a flip side, you'd be surprised at how prominently WWI still looms in the hearts and minds of Europeans. I experienced that first hand there and it brought home to me the sacrifice that my dad made and how it was appreciated by those who are not his countrymen.

My city has been receiving questions this summer from Europeans about particular St. Louis soldiers who died in their countries in 1944+ conflicts. They wish to find out specifics about these young men: their families, their schooling, their trades, anything about them. It's interesting to me that they are looking for information to place with what they've got which is, right now, just a name.

[Alan]

In some places, countries commemorate our military actions every day. If anyone has the opportunity, please visit Normandy and tour the battlefields overlooking the channel. Visit the American Cemetery and marvel at the reverence on display every day, nearly 7 decades later.