America Already Forgot
Nineteen years ago, I was getting ready for school when my mom received a phone call from my dad, who was on a business trip in Florida. She was trying to get ready for work while my dad urged her to turn on the news. The rest of the morning was a blur as my parents tried to figure out how my dad was getting home, and my mom rushed me to school. My class spent most of the day watching the news as classmates received calls from their parents about various family members who worked in New York or were flying across the East Coast.
Everyone who was at least eight or nine years old at the time remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news that two planes crashed into the World Trade Center buildings. The aftermath of 9/11 showed an astounding level of solidarity among Americans. We rallied around the flag. Nineteen years ago is the last time I truly felt like America was united.
The last two decades have been marked with increasing polarization, steadfast identity politics, and astonishing egocentrism that has become quintessentially American. A country so focused on never forgetting has abandoned the values of altruism and community that were the center of our collective response to 9/11. Those shouting “Never Forget!” from the rooftops today are the same who have advocated running over protestors, building walls at our border, and tell those who are pushing for change to leave because they “hate the country so much.”
Today, I refuse to reshare pictures of the towers. I will not post memorials or prayers. Today, I will continue to focus on rebuilding an American legacy of humanitarianism. Today, I will remember those who gave their lives to rescue others because they put their country and community before themselves. Before politics. Before religion. Before class and education and race. American has already forgotten, and it is time we stop pretending otherwise.
