16 years later...

9/11/2001... (if you're American and weirdly write the date backwards) The day that changed America. The day that changed the world. No matter what your political views, no matter what your religion, no matter what your theory is about what went down that day it is difficult to deny that fact. It changed so much and not necessarily for the better.

For me, it changed my sense of security. For the first time in my life I was truly terrified. The first time a plane flew over my head a few weeks after that day my body ran cold. I was anxious to leave the house and go into tall buildings or buildings with large crowds of people in them. I was scared for me. I was scared for my family.

I have my own little ritual every year to remember those who died that day. Whilst I didn't know anyone personally, I have some good friends who lost family members and friends in the towers. Every time I visit New York, I go and pay my respects and I wear a piece of jewelry around my neck every day which I bought at the memorial the first time I ever visited. Its a beautiful piece inscribed in Latin, "No day shall erase you from the memory of time".

I remember there being a big hoohah about this particular quote at the time. The text is taken from Virgil's Aeneid and refers to Nisus and Euryalus, two warrior-lovers who slaughtered the enemy and in turn are killed and have their heads impaled on spears. So when the quote was to be mounted on the wall of the memorial museum in 2014, a professor from some Californian University that you've probably never heard of (I'm talking about both her and the uni) who obviously has far too much time on their hands claimed it was shockingly inappropriate and argued that the quote could be interpreted more towards the terrorists than the victims of 9/11. Blah blah blah, can we just agree that it is a beautiful and fitting quote? If they'd wanted to mount salvaged steal in 15 inch letters on the wall with an amusing but inappropriate knock knock joke or a dirty limerick then that would've been in poor taste but jeez... get over yourself and go back to reading The Odyssey will ya?! NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR OPINION!

But I digress...

So why? Why do we remember?

Why every year do we peel off the scab, reopening the wounds? Reading the names at the memorial in NY and several other gatherings around the US? Why do they show the same documentaries so we can witness and relive the terror and devastation once more?

Is it because it was so horrific, so traumatizing for the people who experienced it first hand and on a similar level for the rest of the world viewing it through their TVs?  Is it because we owe it to those who died that day and those who have fallen since because of that day, to keep their memories, their acts of braveness, kindness and love in its purest form, alive?

The answer is yes. All of the above and so much more. We should never forget. In a few generations time, the event may be simply confined to the history books in a musty old library or to be taught in schools to a room full of kids who really don't give a shit and will probably fail their history exam anyways but until then we should remember, remember til our dying day.

The whole world was asleep that day and we received a huge fucking wake up call. We were all sleeping and we must never go back to sleep again. The moment we do, we take the chance that we will experience another atrocity which will rival or indeed equal September 11th 2001 and I for one pray to the powers that be that I never get to witness anything like that again in my lifetime.