I care where these guys were, not where you were.
It is not yet 11 a.m. and I have to tune out. I will skip news coverage, Twitter and all other social media today, and if you know me, that is no easy task.
I am opting out because Sept. 11 coverage has turned into a hive of white noise that has drowned out the real tragedy.
The problem with a big, horrible event like this is the advice to "never forget." So no one can. That means "disaster porn" on a dozen channels." The planes are flying again and look - here is some never-before-seen-footage of Tower 2! That means undiscovered audio tapes of messages left on voice mail. You've got Rudy Guiliani in his own words, George W. Bush in his own words and children who never met their father in their own words.
Of course, it is still heartbreaking a decade later.
The problem with a nation's tragedy is it becomes a tenuous tragedy. "Where were you?" queries turn into missives like "I was in my cubicle at Sprint" when I heard the news or "I was in eighth-grade history class" or "OMG - I will never forget the day NYC was attacked because I once visited there."
This morning, I turned on CNN, and with the backdrop of the solemn observance at Ground Zero you had anchor/reporter John King dramatically going on about how he covered the events of that day. Um, John, that's your job. You were safe. You are here. It's not about you.
If I were the family members of an actual 9/11 victim, I would be furious. They have suffered real loss, and in our country's efforts for unity, that loss has been diminished by Tiffany ads in the New York Times saying "We will never forget." The NFL season will kick off today, and I am sure there will be uniformed officers and a moment of silence and a flyover, followed by "Let's play ball!"
That's kind of a metaphor for America this last decade. In 2001, we watched, we cried and life stopped for a few days. Then everyone bought a flag and life went on, except you had to take your shoes off at the airport.
For most people, the vow to never forget comes around on the anniversary of 9/11. The rest of the time it is complaining about the security line at the airport and criticizing the Patriot Act and overthinking the minutae of our own lives. That wave of patriotism that united us right after 9/11? It's turned into a culture war of Tea Party vs. Those Who Hate America.
So, you who watched 9/11 unfold on the TV in the safety of your own home. That recollection is yours, of course, but I am already irritated.
It's about the 3,000 people who were killed, and the soldiers who went to war afterwards. I wonder what Lauren Manning, who was burned over 80 percent of her body after she escaped the World Trade Center, or the widows of 343 firefighters who went into the World Trade Center and never came back, are thinking they read stuff like "The Hollywood Reporter asks stars where they were on 9/11!"
For most people, the vow to never forget comes around on the anniversary of 9/11. The rest of the time it is complaining about the security line at the airport and criticizing the Patriot Act and overthinking the minutae of our own lives. That wave of patriotism that united us right after 9/11? It's turned into a culture war of Tea Party vs. Those Who Hate America.
So, you who watched 9/11 unfold on the TV in the safety of your own home. That recollection is yours, of course, but I am already irritated.
It's about the 3,000 people who were killed, and the soldiers who went to war afterwards. I wonder what Lauren Manning, who was burned over 80 percent of her body after she escaped the World Trade Center, or the widows of 343 firefighters who went into the World Trade Center and never came back, are thinking they read stuff like "The Hollywood Reporter asks stars where they were on 9/11!"
And a whole bunch of people are talking about their cubicles.
Is this how we will never forget?
