Flibbertigibbet

ENOUGH ALREADY.

It's been 6 years!

The events of 9/11 were tragic and heart-breaking. I'm glad that no one I know or worked with was killed or injured in the attack, but as New York is a symbol of the greatness of the humanity, it was still painful and sad.

Those who lost family or friends in the attack have every right to feel pain and loss regarding the event. I think it's proper for them to reflect on those events -- when they reflect on them -- with deep sadness.

But I also think those who lost family and friends must go on living their lives. I think it is wholly inappropriate to continue bemoaning the loss on a daily basis. I also think that the city-funded and endorsed memorial services that happen annually are beyond the pale.

This reading of the names of everyone who died... the putting construction on hold (as if it weren't going slowly enough already) ... the numerous moments of silence... the takeover of all the headlines... it's wallowing in the misery and pain!

CNN: 9/11 attack victims honored six years later

NEW YORK (AP) -- Relatives of World Trade Center victims bowed their heads in silence at a small park Tuesday to mark the moment exactly six years earlier when the first hijacked plane struck the towers. The dreary, gray skies created a grim backdrop, and a sharp contrast to the clear blue of that morning in 2001.

Construction equipment now fills the vast city block where the World Trade Center once stood, and work is under way for four new towers, forcing the ceremony to be moved away from the twin towers' footprints for the first time.

Kathleen Mullen, whose niece Kathleen Casey died in the attacks, said the park is close enough.

"Just so long as we continue to do something special every year, so you don't wake up and say, 'Oh, it's 9/11," she said.

I disagree with Miss Mullen. I think we do need to get to a point where we wake up and just say, "Oh, it's 9/11." I do not think it is necessary for all of us -- least of all city officials -- to do something every year. I think it is sick to forbid building on the former Trade Center towers' footprints in favor of a giant tombstone. I also think it is unseemly and morbid that these people conduct their mourning in public like this.

People have to mourn and express their emotions in the way that they see best for their lives, but this demand that the rest of the city, nation, world participate in it is sick and ridiculous. It is as if mourning has become the definition of existence.

Yes, please mourn for your losses. Give due recognition to the values that were destroyed in the terrorist attacks. But go on with life. Don't let loss become the motif of your life. Honor the memory of those who've died by living a life of happiness, success, and prosperity.

And also, let's kill all the terrorists and destroy the countries that harbor and support them.