If you’re anything like me, you spent a good portion of Sept. 11 being been hounded by “never forget” reminders. Do I think we should remember the victims of Sept. 11? Of course. Ask an honest question, though. When you’re told to “never forget” – what are you really being asked to do? In my opinion, the term has been hijacked. The people urging you to remember want you to support violence in the name of patriotism, rather than intentional peace.
Let’s be clear: I think we should remember people who lose their lives to the fallen and senselessly violent nature of human “kind.” I think we should mourn the loss of life, in general, and resolve to do our part to perpetuate goodness instead of violence. However, I don’t think we need a date to remember these conditions.
If Sept. 11 is really important to you, look at some numbers. Roughly 3,000 people lost their lives on Sept. 11. To date, around 100,000 individuals have been killed in Afghanistan. In addition, the lowest estimate for Iraq’s death toll is 150,000. So while I think we should “never forget,” I also think it’s time to stop avenging those 3,000 lives in the name of not forgetting. Folks, we’re winning the violence race, by a ratio of 80-to-1. Sadly, it’s debatable whether the people we’ve killed even had anything to do with the Sept. 11 attack, and it’s unlikely that any of the deaths in question have resolved a single thing.
Do you want to remember Sept. 11? Go ahead and remember it. However, don’t let cynical, erroneous thinking persuade you that any more killing needs to take place in response. Remember Sept. 11 by doing something the terrorists didn’t do. Exhibit kindness, grace and mercy. Breathe life into someone you don’t know, instead of taking it from them. Build wells, shelters, hospitals and schools, instead of dropping bombs. Feed the poor, shelter the homeless and clothe the naked. We can do better. One day, people might want to remember us.
Richard A. Miller
Durango
