9/11 – Most of Us Forget

It’s that day of the year again when we see the plethora of “Never Forget” posts from folks on every social media outlet. I watch with amusement because the timelines of many are normally filled with inane updates. There’ll be a drunken pic one day and now there’s one of lamenting loss. I’m not totally blameless. Yesterday I was out skateboarding and concerned with how a my fall would affect my CX race next week. 9/11 was nowhere in my thoughts until I saw some posts this morning.

I forgot. And today, here’s my post.

The senseless tragedy that happened 12 years ago left a impression on all our lives. I guess I can say I’m one of the lucky ones. I didn’t know anyone that lost their life on that fateful day. Even if I was acquainted someone that died, that person (or persons) obviously wasn’t very close to me. I’m lucky because I don’t have to wake up every September 11th knowing that a wife, husband, brother, sister, son, daughter, father, mother, aunt, uncle, grandfather, grandmother, fiancée, fiancé, cousin, lover, neighbor or friend will not share this day of life with me.

And because of that, I forget.

I go through about three hundred and sixty four days “forgetting.” I can go ahead and subtract a few days for seeing an article, a picture, a news clip, or maybe having it come up in conversation, but my life really goes on as if it didn’t happen. Perhaps that’s natural. Perhaps that’s shutting out the horror of that day. Perhaps that’s “moving on” and continuing with life.

Though I’ve been accused of it, I’m not totally insensitive. I do feel. I do feel loss. But that loss isn’t of a personal nature. It’s a loss of confidence. I lost a bit of confidence in humanity. Despite the inherent goodness that I believe is in everyone, there exists the capacity for people to still do things that are utterly despicable. I cannot fathom how people can blindly follow an ideology that will make them destroy the lives of others.

My main criticism is that one takes a couple of seconds to repost a picture and thinks it’s significant. I’ve done that in the past and as I look back, it WAS rather insignificant. It doesn’t do a damn thing. I think it does more to make the poster feel like they’ve done something rather than actually doing anything.

So what can be done?

That’s what I’m brainstorming now. Here are a few ideas:

1. Donations to a victims fund.
2. Volunteering at a support group.
3. Donations to your local fire/police department.
4. Volunteering at your local fire/police department.
5. Just being there for someone you know that has been directly affected by the 9/11 Tragedy.

Honestly, it can be something as simple as making an effort to enhance the lives of others. No matter how big or small, the mere act of helping someone else has a snowball effect. The strange thing, as I try to bring my rambling thoughts to a close, is that I unknowingly took part in that phenomenon last night.