september 11th - six years later
where was i when the towers fell? i used to care. now i don't. i can recall with more clarity and care where i was when i first witnessed the tower of mordor collapse.
september 11th used to mean something to me. it was mass destruction. how could it not appeal to me. as slojov zizek has pointed out, hollywood has trained us to be entertained by death and destruction. 9/11 was theatre. it was the ultimate reality show. as i wrote about a couple years ago, 9/11 was our priviledge to watch death and destruction from a distance. it was public snuff, broadcast free to satisfy our taste for suffering.
september 11th has lost that meaning. while watching memorial clips of the towers collapsing, i felt nothing. there was no emotional attachment left. there was no sadness. no excitement.
nothing.
september 11th does have a new meaning though. it has become a tool. a device. something to use for my own benefit and utility.
isn't that what it has become for most everyone?
for president bush, it was means to attack iraq.
for alan jackson, it was means to write a song and make some cash.
for oliver stone, it was means to make a movie even worse than alexander.
for the guy who directed the bourne identity, it was means to make another film feeding off our desire for death.
for rudy guliani, it's means to make it into the white house.
for nearly every news network, it's means to get ratings.
for nutjobs like steven jones, it's means to be even more of a conspiritoral kook.
for me, it's means to write yet another meaningless post.
I'm almost sad to hear that. 9/11 has the oportunity to be so much more. You and I have come at many issues from opposite directions for years. But our goal has always been the same. For me, 9/11 was reminder that evil still existed in the world. It's a reminder that people have, inside of them, greatness - as was made apparent by their actions following that tragic day. Peoples actions following the attack proved to me that there is hope for a much better future where people are good and wholesome b/c it's the right thing to do, not b/c it's the law. 9/11 was a glimpse into the heart of America - and her greatness shown through. We held our head higher, we helped our neighbors more, we hugged our families longer. I hope we never forget.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I was walking into the stake center in Linda Vista - San Diego. Our zone meeting was about to begin. As I was walking into the building Elder Kearns was at the door and he said "They just blew up the towers. Someone just bombed us."
september 11th used to mean something to me. it was mass destruction.... september 11th has lost that meaning.
ReplyDeleteThat's a weird meaning to be sad about losing.
But it's true that it has lost meaning. No one cares about the event or the people involved or anything anymore. It's just a buzzword: "9/11", "Post-9/11". They're just words that people have abused for the sake of getting an emotional reaction for so long that we've become numbed to the emotions it used to evoke.
Loyd, you should read a book called Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
ReplyDelete9/11 has certainly been exploited for various purposes and it's hard to not become numb after seeing the images for the millionth time.
But I don't know that you can feel the way you describe when you understand it more intimately and deeply. And while some might derive a perverse pleasure in watching real-life tragedy, I personally feel like someone is slicing a piece of my heart out when confronted with things like the Holocaust, Rwanda, 9/11, and Iraq.
A very good post Loyd. See, you are fully capable of posting something that is right on the money. You deserve an "A." I really like your thought process on this one.
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