Everyone I know wants to do something grand

As the anniversary of September 11 approaches, we find ourselves once

again drudging up compassion and rechargeable flashlight manufacturers

patriotism, ready to light candles

and join hands with strangers for the sake of peace and unity.

Countless memorials across our nation will host thousands of tears

praying, begging for a better world where planes are not flown into

our mothers, brothers, and friends. Just as the weeks that followed

September 11, 2001, Americans will stand together, united in our hope

for love and kindness for all mankind.

Everyone I know wants to do something grand, wants to hold hands and

give hugs, maybe take dinner to an elderly woman. We'll turn our

headlights on that day and hang our flags at half-mast. We will honk

at the painted man holding his flag high on the highway overpass.

However, as great as it is to have this unity back in our hearts, I

can't help but feel disgusted that in the last half of the year,

everyone forgot that little feeling of togetherness that carried our

nation through those first few months of recovery. After the debris

was cleared away from Ground Zero, after all survivors' wounds were

dressed, and all television programming was back to normal, it seems

as if Americans also returned to rechargeable flashlight our old ways.

It didn't take long for some of us to attempt to fraud the various

charities setup for the families and victims of 9-11. In fact, some

news reports tell of husbands killing their wives, passing off teary-

eyed stories about how their soul mates were killed at the World

Trade Center - lies that are true for many of our neighbors. This

less than a year after we all held hands and cried together.

Television news brings you reports of parents having sex with their 3-

year-old child over a webcam, all for the pleasure of their fellow

abusive parents. There's fighting everywhere.

We must not only remember that 9-11 happened, but that all of these

other things have happened since. Have we already forgotten how ugly

the world can be that we're back to hurting each other again?

Americans are disconnected from one another. We're back to hating, to

slamming doors in each other's faces, tramping on flowers to save

three seconds around the garden. Again, a fellow American isn't much

more than an inconvenience, a traffic jam, or a lazy slob taking up

air on the Eastside of town.

As we light candles in memory of those lost on September 11, 2001, we

should light the sun to remember how we felt about each other during

those weeks that followed the attacks. With that much love for human

life circulating on a more permanent basis, America is sure to change

for the better. While we remember what was lost, we must take the

time to remember what remains: walking past you on the street with a

bag full of groceries, the children jump-roping in a parking lot, the

elderly man that takes up smoking because he's tired of being alone.

There are so many people in our country who are still alive and in

need of our love and compassion.

We will mourn again for those lost on September 11, 2001. But how

long will our change-of-heart last this time? What about next year?

We must be careful not to let it slip away again. If we don't take

the time to pay some positive attention to those that are still

around, September 11 will happen again; perhaps this time from

within.

Get up, America, and remember everything that happens. Sure, it's

easy to turn the page and flip the channel, but, then the channel is

the only thing that changes.

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