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Times Change · by David Donald
In the history books, September 11, 2001 will no doubt have a similar place as December 7, 1941. It has grown to become a national tragedy peculiarly defined by its date, unlike other canonical national tragedies like the assassinations of JFK and MLK.
The human mind has a tendency to compartmentalize, to break the continuous flow of events and history into discrete periods punctuated by events. Sometimes individual events really are as significant as they loom on the pages of history books, but more often they are like the peak of the tsunami that passes harmlessly under a boat on the open ocean – their force is a result of what comes before, after, and concurrently.
Hindsight mentally compresses this widespread force into a tsunami. To put this synechdochic feat into buzzword format, cultural memory does not recognize the long tail.
The senseless tragedy of September 11 should be mourned, not only for the thousands of lives that were lost, but for the way it has come to represent and justify a change in the national and international outlook. While economically this change has resulted in untold costs, the more significant costs are mental. While mourning has its place, and while fear is hard to beat, a forward-looking attitude that recognizes as much of the situation as possible is a necessity if one is to live in the present. It’s easy to never forget the tsunami’s peak. It’s harder to remember what caused it and what it caused.
Comments for "Times Change"
powerful post…Double D you a staff writer,now? That’s wassup, dog. Keep it coming.
RD
— RD Sep 12, 12:15 AM
Always been a staff writer, just do more editing of the reviews and features than actual writing.
— David Sep 12, 01:54 AM
This is on some sociopsychological shit, something I’ve often pondered but never articulated like this. peace
— Jay B Sep 12, 02:47 AM