It's not sappy to linger over memorial special editions, remembrances, photographs and testimonials. It's not gratuitous, not a superfluous self-centered exercise in tear-jerking. I think we have a hard time getting over our feeling that it is because we don't know how to fit this behavior into our "normal" selves. But it's what we are supposed to do. We should take the time to actually reflect and remember September 11th.
I haven't ever experienced it this way- I remember that day more clearly than many days a decade ago, but it didn't truly hit me before I felt like this was my city. There are so many things I love about New York, the city that I got used to in about a minute, and the people per square mile make it what it is. It wouldn't be any of the things we love without them. Those people being attacked- being destroyed, for no fault of their own- it feels more personal now that I love the city. That day and the ones that followed were so horrible, worse than the worst nightmare but real.
A few things that made me remember, taught me something, and moved me:
A book of portraits of aging 9/11 rescue dogs, 10 years later.
A look at the now-open memorial at the World Trade Center site.
A crowd-sourced collection of the many different kinds of art that resulted from that day.
And, a few short video interviews and photographs with photographers --heroes as well-- that documented September 11th in New York. One simply ends with the photographer saying, "This is not a way to fight. This is something other than war."
Never forgetting means spending a little more time than is comfortable just remembering.
No comments:
Post a Comment