The beauty of small town living...

My photo
Bomont, West Virginia, United States
When you have no idea what you're doing, somebody else will ... or at least make something up & run with it.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Remembrance - Commemorate or Instigate?

Tomorrow, Americans are asked to fly their flags in honor of those who died at the hands of terrorists 6 years ago. Businesses are asked to fly their flags at half staff. A moment of silence will be observed at 8:46 a.m., when the first plane slammed into the Twin Towers.

Personally, I think flying your flag only on patriotic holidays and "days of remembrance" is the equivalent of going to church only on Christmas and Easter. You either mean it or you don't.

What do you think? Do you think that our need to honor & remember helps us heal & honor our dead or do you think it just gives future terrorists more options to choose from when picking the perfect date to attack us again?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think they should show the film footage of what actually happened at least once a week.
Someone/someones in the media have/has decided it is to disturbing to watch. We need to be disturbed and reminded that there is real evil in the world and is trying to destroy our why of life.

SirHenry60

ROSE said...

Amen.

Here's a disturbing thing, though, that might reside solely in my own household, but I don't think so.

The other day, we watched the movie "Gettysburg." My 11-year-old was disappointed because the reenactors "didn't die good enough." He was looking for more blood & guts & gore. Mind you, we don't watch a lot of bloody, gory movies at our house. My children aren't choked on a daily basis with uber-violent games & movies & such. I'm very anal retentive about those 'pesky' ratings & what I think is "appropriate" for my children to be exposed to in our own home.

History, though, bends those rules. We have a violent history in our country & no amount of molly-coddling or sheltering is going to change that. As disturbing as the footage of 9/11 is, I'm not sure our desensitized population appreciates it's impact anymore. To this day, I can't watch that footage without tearing up & finding it hard to breathe.

I wonder, though, how many people watch that footage & wish they could see more bodies falling or more blood or body parts or whatever whatever whatever. How many of those people watch it with the same detachment they watch the weather? How many of those people aren't 11-year-old boys looking for violence they think is made in Hollywood?

How many people have you heard say, "I'm tired of hearing about it" or "I'm tired of seeing that footage" ? The media didn't stop showing the footage because it was "too disturbing." They stopped showing it because it's losing it's impact. People don't stop dead in their tracks anymore & sit there, glued to the TV.

When enough of us get tired of hearing about it & become immune to the footage, we'll once again become the perfect targets. The scary thing is, I think we're almost there.

Anonymous said...

Lets not forget all the attacks on the American people by Muslims since 1979 when the embassy was attacked in Iran and hostages were held for days and months. Not only then but for the 22 years following even more attacks up and including the attacks of 9/11/01. Some have excused the murders and are screaming "Get out of Iraq" and "Bring our Boys Home" and to do this is to say "I submit to the terriosts attacks" and its ok to create even more havick here in the USA.
All the lives lost to them for nothing and its ok to kill more around the world because we have a YELLOW streak up our backs and turn yellow and run if another muslim says boo to us.

Like the old saying goes "FORGET HELL" when they pry my cold dead fingers from my guns.

Anonymous said...

And then there are the individuals who are attacked and killed by other individuals. Their deaths are just as senseless, vicious, violent and evil as those done in mass. Yet there is usually small if any mention of these people; no lingering televised or broadcasted memorials for them. I guess this is because there deaths aren't important.

Anonymous said...

Rose, did you really mean to use that phrase in that context?
Anal retentive=full of sh**

Anonymous said...

I agree with Rose about the ratings and I don't consider myself full of sh*t.

Anonymous said...

Anal retentive=full of sh**

I believe she could have used the phrase "tightly puckered sphincter" to make her point completely clear.

ROSE said...

LOL I think we've reached an all-time low here.

I used "anal retentive" in the context of "ridiculously, obsessively meticulous." If being ridiculously, obsessively meticulous about the diet of drivel my children are exposed to translates into me being full of sh*t, then I wear my banner proudly & wish with all my soul that the rest of you who are full of sh*t could be just a fraction as anal retentive as I am.

Anonymous said...

Anal retentive parents also teach their kids manners, make them do homework, go to bed before midnight, live with a curfew and act like they have some sense.

I'm an anal retentive parent too. Just like my parents before me and theirs before them.

I wish there were more of us.

Anonymous said...

Good parenting tactics like that were around long before the catch phrase "anal retentive" was ever overused.

ROSE said...

Yes & it's a shame those tactics aren't as overused as catch phrases.

It's also a shame that I have 6 radio stations programmed into my car radio & at 8:46 yesterday morning, only one of them was silent - 107.3. Of course, their clocks might be out of sync, but 107.3 is owned by the same people who own 5 or 6 other stations in Charleston.

Did any other stations recognize the moment of silence? Did anybody see any signs that yesterday was special in any way??

Anonymous said...

Code V, you lurkin in there some where?

Anonymous said...

Probably, since his own blog is dead!

Anonymous said...

Are you anal retentive?
Find out here

ROSE said...

"Okay, so you're occasionally uptight, but it's not like you fill your day with little OCD rituals. You just like to exercise a little control over your life, and that's usually a good thing. As long as you limit your anal retentive ways to your own behavior, you're not annoying anyone. Deep down, most people are exactly like you."

So ... the internet says I'm not as anal retentive as some people who are exactly like me seem to think.

BAHAHAHAHA LOL