OPINIONS
Sept. 11 is a day to remember
This tragedy has sadly revived patriotism, it is true but unfortunate. September 11th has also divided our nation; citizens who take this day to remember those who were innocently killed and citizens who are distracted from reality.
They are distracted from the true happenings of this day in 2001. 2,973 friends, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers were murdered on this day. Their destiny was determined and altered indefinitely by hatred. The world lost 2,973 lives on that day.
Americans have the right to remember those taken however they choose. Citizens have the right to support those families as neighbors and fellow Americans. Americans have the right to support those volunteers serving and risking their lives in the War on Terror.
Americans have the right to remember the 2,685 casualties in Iraq served by our heroic volunteers. Americans have the right to openly or privately show evidence of patriotism. When walking into a store with patriotic merchandise people will not react disapprovingly like seeing Halloween merchandise on shelves in the month of July. There should not be a designated time to be patriotic. Nor is there a defined way to show patriotism.
People have spent $10.00 to buy a shirt with the letters “FDNY” imprinted on the back. Citizens have spent $9.00 to see the movie United 93, a movie supported by the family members of those who died heroically deterring the one of the four planes hijacked from hitting another terrorist target. Citizens have chosen to place a “Support our Troops” sticker on their vehicles. They have chosen to display the American flag on their homes.
These acts are not the impulses of commercialization. These are acts of recognition and awareness. Most of all, these are acts of “never forgetting”.
Commercialized, you decide.