EDITORIAL 9-11 REMEMBERED RETURNING TO ``NORMAL'' ISN'T ENOUGH.IT doesn't seem like two years ago. It seems like much longer than that - and yet it also feels like yesterday. So much has happened since Sept. 11, 2001. We've fought wars, held elections, mourned more tragedies and celebrated new heroes and milestones. Yet when we take a moment to reflect, to remember that morning - when the news of each successive part of the massacre Massacre See also Genocide. Acre after conquering city, Richard I executed 2700 Muslims (1191). [Eur. Hist.: Bishop, 83–84] Armenian Massacre Turks decimated Armenian population, dispersed survivors (1896). [Eur. Hist. first broke - it feels like 9-11 all over again. It was a day when the news was all bad, and it didn't stop. There were, of course, the stories of awe-inspiring heroism Heroism See also Bravery. Achilles Greek hero without whom Troy could not have been taken. [Gk. Lit.: Iliad] Aeneas Trojan hero; legendary founder of Roman race. [Rom. Lit. , of firefighters, paramedics and the passengers aboard Flight 93. Those stories provided some comfort and hope, but they could do little to diminish the overwhelming emotion of that awful day: dread. Over time, that dread has subsided. You could say we've returned to ``normal,'' for better and for worse. Americans no longer live in the same state of fear that gripped them in the months after 9-11. We yawn yawn v. To open the mouth wide with a deep inhalation, usually involuntarily from drowsiness, fatigue, or boredom. n. The act of yawning. at the latest shift in the nation's color-coded security system. We fly more easily and more often. But in our increasing comfort, there's also a decreasing sensitivity to the horrors of that day when terrorists declared war on our country, a war that rages on. We've also lost, to some degree, that sense of the national unity, patriotism Patriotism See also Chauvinism, Loyalty. America, Captain comic-strip character known as the “protector of the American way.” [Comics: Horn, 155–156] American elm traditional symbol of American patriotism. and compassion that prevailed in the weeks and months following 9-11. Politicians of all parties have politicized the War on Terror This article is about U.S. actions, and those of other states, after September 11, 2001. For other conflicts, see Terrorism. The War on Terror (also known as the War on Terrorism . The flags on cars and freeway overpasses have gradually disappeared. We have slowly begun to take for granted the heroic efforts of our men and women in military and law enforcement who work tirelessly tire·less adj. Not yielding to fatigue; untiring or indefatigable. tire  less·ly adv. for our protection.
The second anniversary of 9-11 should remind us not only of how it felt that day, but also of how that day changed us, our attitudes, our resolve. It should remind us of the troops now serving on the front lines in the War on Terror - and absorbing the attacks against America - in Afghanistan and Iraq. We should remember that as Americans, no matter what our race, religion, ethnicity ethnicity Vox populi Racial status–ie, African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic or political affiliation, we're all on the same side. It's not good enough simply to return to normal. We each need to take a moment today to pay homage homage: see feudalism. to the victims and the heroes of 9-11 and to the men and women who have carried on the fight for freedom since that day. And we must strengthen our own resolve to stand up to terror and stand for the ideals of America, every individual's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. |
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