Empty sky

As we move on from the late summer weekend, I'm still thinking about the words we saw and heard all day Saturday: "Never forget."

Well, no, I will never forget that the 9/11 attacks occurred. That thousands of innocent people died horrible deaths. That among the murdered were brave firefighters, and cops, who ran up the stairs.

But why is it important to never forget? At the time we first adopted that slogan, I took it to mean two things: revenge and constant vigilance. I guess the idea of taking care of the victims' families was also in there somewhere. But there seemed to be a lot more fear behind those two words than there was love.

So we had 20 years of war, which we lost. And you have to take your shoes and your belt off before you get on a plane.

Meanwhile, we've turned on each other. More people have died as a result of the division of our country than the suicide teams wiped out on that dreadful day. 

Maybe we should have seen it coming when the monster sent the anthrax around in the mail. That stuff was made in the good old U.S.A.

Anyway, I remember. But I feel a lot more haunted by the threats from the next town over, or even the next block, than I am by the threats from the crazies halfway around the world.

There must be a lesson from 9/11/01 that we should be applying to the challenges of 9/11/21. But try as I might, I can't quite put my finger on it.