Yesterday, while browsing Facebook on my bus ride home, I came across a snapshot of a Facebook status posted by a girl named Lauren. I'm leaving her last name out because I don't need to slander her reputation more than she already has done for herself, but I want to address what she said. The status read: "great... it's september eleventh...and that's all I'm probably going to see in my news feed all day today is never forget statuses...#facepalm". At first I was offended, like a lot of people seemed to be. But the more I thought about it, the more upset I became. You see, Lauren, September 11th is arguably the most important day in our generation's history. But you don't see it that way. You see it as a major disruption to your social media browsing. And that's scary to me. On September 11th our entire nation stood still and watched as almost 3,000 of our own were viciously and unjustifiably taken from us. But that doesn't matter to you. And I really don't understand why.
Social media is wonderful in many ways; it reunites us with people we've lost touch with. It connects us to people across the globe who share similar interests with us. It even brings people together to find a lifetime of love and happiness. But people like you are what is wrong with social media. You seem to be so consumed with who is updating their profile picture, telling us what they bought at the grocery store, or dumping ice on their heads, that you can't stop for one day to remember those we lost. Yes, life should go on after 9/11, and in a lot of ways it has and will continue to. But is having to acknowledge a single day of remembrance really that inconvenient to your daily life?
Anyone who was born before that harrowing day has been affected by the tragedy in some way. We all feel the aftermath. Each time we go through seemingly pointless security to get into a building, TSA screenings at the airport, heightened police presence at events; these are all direct side effects of 9/11. Many, many people lost family, friends, significant others, coworkers and more. My mother and my aunt had lunch reservations scheduled at the restaurant on top of the North Tower just a week later. What would have happened to them if they had decided to book their trip a few days earlier? I am incredibly thankful that my family got lucky that day, that my mom and my aunt were at work in Florida and not near those buildings. But other people weren't so lucky, because their work was in those buildings. Some made it out. A lot didn't. And the families of those workers weren't spared that day. For those families, every day is 9/11. They are affected by it every. single. day. For those families, every day is a day of remembrance. And you're telling me you can't observe one day for them? For those 3,000 people who perished? I sincerely hope whatever you were doing yesterday was really that important, though I doubt it was.
For the families and loved ones of those lost on September 11th, as well as the survivors, that day is theirs. That day belongs to them. Not you. Much like April 15th belongs to the victims and survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing, and April 19th belongs to those affected by the Oklahoma City bombing. And every other unspeakable tragedy our generation has been influenced by, those days are for them. They're not about us. They are about remembering those who we lost, the legacies they left behind, and the people who continue to fight every day without their loved ones. They don't ask for much, just that we remember the victims on the day they perished. For me, it's pretty easy to give them that day. I don't have to change my daily routine or go out of my way to do something. I go on with my work day like I normally would, but every once in a while I stop and think about that day, and what it means for the people who were affected by it. It's not difficult, and it isn't a grand gesture, but it for me it makes a difference.
So yes, you will see a lot of "never forget" statuses. You saw them yesterday. You'll see them next year. And you'll probably see them every year until you pass. And that is perfectly okay. Because we won't forget. And why should we? Why should we ever forget the day our world changed forever? We shouldn't. And we won't.
Everyone has bad days. Maybe yesterday was yours. Maybe you didn't think about the consequences of your words when you posted them on Facebook. Maybe you really don't care. Maybe you're ignorant and selfish and too consumed with whats on your iPhone to give a damn. Maybe you should think before you speak, or type. Maybe, on 9/11, unless it's something positive, you just shouldn't say anything at all.
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