OK, I'll say it.

September 11, 2001, was an important day in American history. Many lives were lost tragically. I can only imagine the pain of having kissed your loved one goodbye in the morning and never seeing them alive again.

However, in the U.S. each year, ten times as many people die in auto accidents; ten times as many die of suicide; twice that many died fighting the "War on Terror". Each of those deaths left behind bereaved families and dreams cut short. Yet those deaths get nowhere near the news coverage and Facebook posts or tweets and millions of dollars spent on memorials and shrines that September 11 gets. And then there's what our collective reaction to the events back in 2001 have done to our civil liberties and our ability to travel and conduct business freely.

I understand (from having lived there) that the reactions of people in New York, Washington, Boston, and Pennsylvania are somewhat/largely cultural. I understand the particular investment of those families in which individuals died. But I think people wrapping themselves in the flag and in marginally-shared sacrifice for September11thedaythatchangedeverything give it way too much emphasis. Why don't people change their Facebook profile pictures for Pearl Harbor Day? That, too, commemorates an attack on U.S. soil and thousands of lives lost.

July 4, September 17 -- those are days which should define America. I hate to see us define ourselves by 9/11. It's a victim's mentality. America is better than that. Remembering is good. Remembering is important. But for a society to hollow itself with paranoia and false patriotism in the face of much bigger challenges to our way of life ... just seems a terrible waste.

Alright, the Nomex suit is on....