Is “Never forget” the right idea?
Today I did a blogsearch on the term “Never forget.” As of that moment, there had been 593 blog entries in the previous 24 hours containing that exact phrase. One might say that “Never forget” is a catch phrase that has achieved a large amount of cultural penetration. It is the unofficial slogan of the day.
September 11th will live on for years as a psychological trauma for many people. (I’ll be the first to confess that I can emotionally transport myself to that morning if I close my eyes and focus.) I am in favor of healing. And insomuch as memorializing the day and taking moments to reflect helps that healing process, I am in favor of doing so. To deny or ignore that the hurt still exists would be either callous or stupid.
Nor would it be sane to suggest that the attack required no refocusing of our attention on domestic security.
I’m fairly certain that the “not forgetting” will take care of itself. For those who lost and for those who witnessed, the images were too stark to ever truly go away.
Today I find myself with a question running through my mind. Tentatively, sensitively, I ask whether we we’re yet approaching the point where we might all benefit from just a little bit of forgetting?
While we might say that September 11th taught us important lessons, it might also be true that September 11th has caused us to unlearn other important lessons, or to lose some perspective on the longer lessons of history. Maybe it is time to realize that it could be playing too powerful a role in shaping our future. Is it right to let one day play such a prominent role in shaping our foreign policy in a large region of the globe?
It strikes me that 9-11 has been transformed by our unseemly political process into something not unlike a brand. Politicians can say six simple words–”The world changed on September 11th,”–to evoke a complex set of emotional responses in us. Whether those emotional responses are particularly helpful to us, especially when we need to do things like evaluate policy proposals–or vote–remains an open question. Is the risk of being manipulated by politicians one that we can collectively afford to take?
I’m sure that you can tell that I have my doubts.
What matters now is not so much remembering our past, but rather finding some plausable way forward. Right now, I just want to be able to think. I want the freedom to use my clear mind in carrying out my mundane duties of citizenship.
Five years later, I believe I’m finally ready for some passionate dispassion.
I’m afraid I’m guilty here. I had a post yesterday with a simple image of the Tribute In Light, entitled “Never Forget.” In fact, I agonized for several minutes about whether to give the post that title or not.
I don’t mean the phrase in the empty, political way it’s used by the GOP administration, nor in the “never forget who did this to us” way of the Midwest. I meant specifically never to forget the victims themselves. As I posted in our discussion post, my parents lost dear friends on that day. That’s why I posted the tribute in light, just about the only tasteful thing that’s been done in memorium to the victims of 9/11 thus far.
I hope my message was clear.
No fears, C. I hope/think I’m being clear that I’m not criticizing you or anyone else whose sincere motive is to memorialize the victims of the attacks.
If we could have a little bit more reflection, and a lot less sloganeering with an eye toward fomenting division and misdirected passions, we’d all be better off.
I’m not holding my breath.
I hear what you’re saying. i read something else on the same (sort of) subject htat you might enjoy. LINK