The Hyperion Chronicles

#74 One year later

Sharpen your pencils. Fire up that Telegraph. Get your trigger finger ready to hit REPLY-COMMA-ANGRY. You are about to read a few things that may make you upset. That’s ok. It’s past time someone said them. So, read, and get mad if you will, and write and tell me how horrible I am. I love you anyway.

I hate 9/11.

Ok, maybe that’s too strong. Let me try again.

I am tired of 9/11.

Now, let me tell you what that doesn’t mean: I’m not tired of the victims, or their grieving families. I’m not tired of all the police, firemen, EMS, and everyone else who risked their lives that day and subsequently to try to rescue people, or the many folks since who had the less appreciated but just as tough jobs of sifting through thousands of tons of wreckage, looking for bodies, notifying families, and trying to get everything cleared away. I’m not tired of the way the nation came together, united, ready to face and defeat whatever and whomever. I’m not tired of remembering.

What I am tired of is the way the tragedy that occurred last year is used, abused, exploited, and manipulated by anyone who seeks to gain fame, fortune, ratings, or just their 15 minutes.

I’m tired of people not getting the money given to help them. I was humbled by how quickly Americans jumped in to help financially. Over 2.3 billion dollars were raised by the largest charities, in addition to what the federal government was doing. People gave too much even, but it’s hard to fault. What is wrong is the way the money has been distributed, or more accurately, hasn’t been. Just as of a few weeks ago, only 29 cents of every dollar has gone to the families, and while some more was slated to be given (what is taking so long?), most of the rest was being held back by these “charities” in their usual fashion for other needs; everything from religious tolerance programs to “administrative costs.” This is standard practice for these people, but I think folks who gave money for 9/11 quite rightly expected the money to go to the victims, not office plants. And yet, the few voices that raised concerns were drowned out. The charities themselves went on the offensive, portraying themselves as the injured party, in a sickening irony. Celebrities, too, jumped on the bandwagon; criticizing anyone who questioned how all these funds were being disbursed, which leads me to something else I’m fed up with.

I am tired of all the people who have tried to further, resurrect, or just plain start their career over this tragedy. I don’t mind (sometimes) shelling out the money to watch a star in a movie, tuning in to a TV show, or cranking up the radio for a favorite song. But, that does not mean they know anything, or I want to hear them tell it. I’m tired of every has-been who was ever on a cancelled ‘70s sitcom showing up on TV to give their memories on New York, the American people, or what should or should not be done in Afghanistan, Iraq, or Hollywood. I’m tired of this “red-ribbon” mentality, that they care more because they are better than we are, and should be listened to and respected. If there were one time to not hog the spotlight, to take the opportunity to shut up, this would it be it.

I am tired of people not moving on. We should never forget—history teaches us that—but remembering is one thing, morbidly holding on is another. I swear, some people enjoy being miserable. In this vein falls the misguided—if not abominable—idea of making 9/11 a national holiday. As a kid I would take any opportunity—from Leap Year to Adolf Hitler Day—to miss school. Now, I am older, somewhat wiser, and I see the peril. The powers that be, and us included, might say this is to remember the victims. It’s not. Oh, sure, part of it is. But that’s what memorials are for. And, it’s not like this day will ever go away, even if we wanted it to. This holiday would be to remember the horror of what we saw, what we felt, what we went through. And that’s nuts. That is rewarding the people who did this. That’s making them the stars, and encouraging people like them to get their names in the record books. That’s as stupid as making celebrities out of kids who shoot up schools, prompting others who watch it on TV to want to be like them. Oh wait.

This brings me to what I’m most tired of about today: the Media. I am tired of these money and ratings obsessed people whorring themselves, taking every opportunity to get as much as they can out of the tragedy. I won’t go so far to say that the TV networks were happy 9/11 happened, but I noticed that on Day 1, every single station had their own theme music, their own disaster logos, and their own slogan. I watched with a mix of amusement and horror, as these slogans would morph—sometimes daily—as the situation evolved early on. There was wall-to-wall blanket coverage, with as much grisly reliving as possible. Some of that was inevitable, as the entire world was transfixed. But, after a while, it became overkill. And then, it became macabre; as these people did everything they could to tie anything that happened—from oil prices to fall fashions—to September 11^th, and made it seem like a civic duty to watch their pompous pontification. They didn’t let up. The Super Bowl was a symbol of American greatness. Graduating Classes were the first to graduate in a post-9/11 world, prompting ‘round the clock coverage. Memorial Day and July 4^th? That wrote itself. Baseball labor issues centered around not striking on September 11^th, to save the country. Even bikinis, with their red, white, and blue flavors of the month were not exempted. The last few days, though, it has gotten worse and worse, and I know the next few days will be just as rough.

I’m tried of the rank opportunism out there to get and stay in the spotlight, to push some agenda, to make a buck. This drowns out the right message, and clouds what we should remember. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. Maybe I shouldn’t be sickened. Maybe I shouldn’t be cynical. But I’m still tired.

Still here in spirit,

Hyperion
September 11, 2002