Day of Remembrance

Living in California, the tragic events of 9/11/2001 seemed distant and not totally real. Is this a matter of distance, a matter of being one of the lucky ones who knew no one who was killed or injured that day, or died later of exposure and injuries in New York? I can remember watching the news that morning when the local people said something was wrong in New York. I switched to the Broadcast networks, and they all had this horrific picture of that magnificent building billowing smoke, and as we in TV land watched a huge airplane made a turn and ran full speed into the other tower. I was stunned into disbelief, was this just some made up horror from a movie they were showing? No, it was all too real, and as the news worsened with the horrors in New York, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania, it still felt like we were in some movie theater somewhere, watching the most horrible horror film ever made. Even today as I watch the ceremonies taking place around this country and especially in the three places that were directly hit, even as I watch the emotion on the faces of those left behind who have to cope with this each and every day of their lives, here it seems like a nightmare that wasn't quite real. I know it was real, I saw it unfold, I have watched the interviews with people who were involved, and those who talked to their loved ones as they were murdered that day, and it still doesn't seem like it was real. I of course know it was real, and I know that there was a horrific loss of life and innocence that awful day, but now seven years later it is bandied about like a political tool, being used for purely political gain, and that is soooo wrong. These ceremonies should not be the platform for politicians, it should be the platform for those left behind and those who survived to share their memories of that day and keep reminding us all that it did happen, and that it can happen again, but not for politicians to use as a scare tactic and wave it like a flag, claiming they are the only ones who can keep us safe from another event such as this. It should be a day without politics or politicians, without speeches and scare tactics, let it be what it should be, a day of remembrance and mourning, a day of healing and consoling each other.