On this anniversary week of the 9/11 attacks, I’ve been thinking a lot about how it felt then to be an American, and how we’re feeling now. I remember acutely the day, of course, the immense shock and the dawning realization of our vulnerability. We were experiencing directly what we’d never encountered, an attack on our home ground.
But after the towers fell, after we saw the Pentagon in flames, and the Pennsylvania field where United Flight 93 came down, in the days we were all immobilized by shock and by the silent skies, there was a moment unique in my lifetime. It seems to me there must have been a feeling like that during World War II, when the nation came together in a common purpose, but it was outside my direct experience. It was a moment when we were all united as Americans, through our pride in our heroes, our fear and confusion, our rage and our sorrow.
In the decade that followed, we lost that feeling. I don’t know if that loss was due to the long war in Iraq, a war we later learned was predicated on a lie, which divided us into those who believed and those who doubted. Perhaps it was the shock of the economic crash, when a corrupt banking system collapsed and so many Americans lost their homes, and their jobs. It may have been the rise of the Tea Party movement, in which people who felt their voices were not heard reclaimed power. Perhaps it was the fact that a woman pushed to the front of the line, and a black man moved into that whitest of houses. Maybe it was the growth of an industry of radio and television commentators whose style is reminiscent of Radio Rwanda, fanning flames of conflict with their intolerance.
Whatever happened, we are now more divided than we have ever been. We’ve grouped into red and blue, right and left, and it’s common to hear citizens from both sides demonizing those who may pull a different lever in the voting booth.
Yet I still believe most Americans hold the same values, and want the same things in life. We want health and happiness for our families, meaningful work and prosperity, protection for our environment, liberty and equality for all our citizens, and peace.
And I can’t help but wonder, will the center hold? Does the will exist among us to grasp, once again, that moment we allowed to slip away?
Solem but hope and light shines through. It’s really hard to know what that day meant to many and what it means to them today. It’s s difficult subject to write a poem for because the memory is so recent. But it’s good that you wrote it to keep those downline in touch with the living like yourself who felt it and now share that memory with those who were not there.
thank you
“Whatever happened, we are now more divided than we have ever been. We’ve grouped into red and blue, right and left, and it’s common to hear citizens from both sides demonizing those who may pull a different lever in the voting booth.”
This line from your poem is where I sit. I remain touched by the 911 event but frustrated by the outcome. Rather than pull together as one community we are more divided than ever. I am grateful for the energy of change that is permeating the air and pray for peace amongst ourselves at the least, soon.
You’re a thoughtful writer Jillian.