It's a provocative question: with the sixth anniversary of 9/11 right around the corner, how much tribute is enough? What's the expiration date for grieving? What's the purpose of public memorials, and who are they for? I couldn't begin to have the answers to all these questions... what do y'all think? And, if you weren't directly affected by a given tragedy, do you even get to have a say?
1:11 PM ET | 09- 3-2007 | permalink
I live in Blacksburg, VA, home of Virginia Tech. The residents of Blacksburg are torn as to how and when to move on -- some can't even begin to imagine moving on beyond the tragic shootings in April. Still others wish it would all just go away. Right now we are giving each other plenty of space and permission to do what we need to do, but I'll be curious to see as years go by how the community chooses to "deal" with April 16th each time it comes around.
If we commemorate the 9/11 tragedy merely to increase ratings and dwell on its sensational aspects then surely enough is enough. I believe, however, that there are aspects of 9/11 that we need to know. Has everyone who was injured or involved in the event been treated physically and emotionally? Have the environmental issues been resolved. Have employment opportunities for those at the World Trade Center who were displaced by 9/11 become available? These are things we probably wouldn't know unless we observed this special day of remembrance.
9-11 has been shoved down the throat of our collective psyche since the networks started broadcasting the burning towers. Certainly it was a traumatic event but the trauma created by the media and constant re-visiting of the wound weighs greater on our national psyche than the damage caused by the actual attacks themselves. The fervor created by the attacks has already been used to lead us into two unnecessary and increasingly disastrous and ongoing wars. The question should be when we as a nation will we begin to seriously examine the truths that lead to the attacks of 9-11 instead of memorializing it in a storm of propaganda.
How long .... ?
Until the pain goes away.
I have heard that the greater capacity people have to feel good, the more they can take facing the bad feelings of trauma. In psychological terms, this is called "positive affect tolerance." Can your guest speak to the value of balancing good and bad feelings for mental health? For trauma survivors, this might mean facing a tragedy in gradual ways or in ways that lead to productive growth. This might mean following up times of grieving with times to release and relax.
Please note that your guest's name is Charles Figley, not John Figley.
Thank you kindly
Re: my previous post -- The need to balance good and bad feelings can explain why some cultures have rituals that enable grieving at funerals to flow into celebrations of the deceased person's life.
It's not a matter of whether or not to continue the commemoration. It's a matter of HOW. The reading of names to the tolling of a bell will stop someday. Soon, I hope. But the day should be preserved as Patriot Day, much as December 7th is still Pearl Harbor Day.
I agree with a caller who said the best way to commemorate 9/11 is to have a full independent investigation. There are many unanswered questions that point to government compicity, and 30% of Americans believe 9/11 was an inside job.
A couple of your callers tried to make statements which weren't "off the point" at all. For me, 9/11 and it's aftermath will forever be inextricably tied to the cynical exploitation of the tragedy to justify invasion of two countries,thus creating more tragedy as well as the deaths and displacement of tens of thousands of Iraqis and Afghanis. 9/11 has been used by the U.S. government to justify everything from torture to illegal wiretapping. I also agree with the caller who rightly stated that in the big historical world picture, 9/11 isn't even near the top of the list of world tragedies. Yes, for the families and friends and surviving co-workers of the U.S. victims of 9/11 the grieving will go on as it should. But for the rest of the country, we need to wake up to the way we've been manipulated and make sure that neither 9/11, its aftermath or the likes of the Bush administration ever happen again.
Every person has a right to grieve. That also includes and unlimited timeline and in a way that helps he or she heal. If someone chooses to honor September 11th with a moment of silence and nothing more or if a person chooses to not reflect the day at all that is his or her right. In no way should that person be labeled as "unpatriotic".
I choose to treat that day as any other. I live my life like I always have and will continue to do so, without a moment of silence.
I think that you were dismissive of people who brought complex issues to the idea of "moving on" or continuing to commemorate 9-11. It is not a black-and-white issue -- there is no easy choice between "moving on" and commemorating. The issue of "commemorating" 9-11 is much more complex than a national tragedy similar to a community tragedy or personal tragedy. In 9-11, the personal was radically politicized, and it cannot be separated from the ways 9-11 is used for political purposes.
Should we continue to "commemorate" the lives lost on 9-11? What are we commemorating? If we are remembering that many precious human beings were killed for political purposes on that day, yes, we should "commemorate." If we are "commemorating" by stoking our hatred of other people and raising energy for war, then we should not "commemorate."
The rhetoric about "everything changed at 9-11" is false rhetoric. The event did not change us -- it is everything that has been done in the name of 9-11 that has changed us, and it has changed us almost completely for the worst.
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