Remember this from five years ago?
I remember how i felt when i saw that image on TV. But more, i remember how everyone else seemed to feel. People were moved to the point of passion. For about two weeks, the whole country cared. Now, five years later, it's a little intellectually embarrassing to bring it up, isn't it? Come on, let's talk about root causes, poverty, disenfranchisement. Nine-eleven was tragic, but it's old news. Only undereducated red-state flag-wavers are still harping on
that.
Two brief thoughts. No, three.
- You don't need to be a self-described "patriot" to tell right from wrong. (Or vice versa, the snide could say, but hold that thought.)
- For any free and liberal society to survive, true lovers of such tolerance must recognize and stand against aggressive intolerance everywhere it exists - not only in their own culture. Else, they embrace their own destruction. It's only a matter of time.
In 2001 the surviving Americans said "Never forget."
In 1945 the surviving Jews said "Never again."
These are two very different statements.
Do we care enough to step from the first to the second? I doubt it. Not anymore.
Not when so many of us are unthinkingly asking ourselves if we even should.
Not when we've already stopped caring about the first statement - which, really, we might as well. It's like Thanksgiving as a post-Christian holiday: what's the point?
And finally, not even if we could all agree on what was to be done. Which, if it were to happen, should frighten anyone almost as much.
So here's a challenge: Don't get all misty-eyed for ten minutes today watching the retrospectives, remembering one September day in one year in one country in the whole ancient history of this huge aching world. Don't flatter yourself that you really care - unless you're going to keep caring and do something about it.
A good rule for all things, maybe.
Image credit: wuzzadem.typepad.com
(image: firstcoastnews.com)
