They say that "time heals all wounds?" How much time needs to pass before you get over the loss of a husband, a wife, your mother or father, a sister or a brother. I really don't think that there is much truth in this quote. Maybe I should create a new quote, one that has more truth within it? I think a more plausible quote would be "Time lessens the pain of a wound" or 'The passing of time may lessen the sting of death" or even "The hands of time do nothing more than force you to do something, anything, just do something, keep moving, keep remembering the good moments, dwell on those memories that even the act of death cannot steal". Yes, I think that is a far better quote to live by.
How can I let this day pass without one mention of that dreadful event that has come to symbolize "September 11". A day when one comes to realise that this world is not the safe place that was felt before that day came to be. An act occurred that rocked the foundation of this country. Fear gripped this nation, to such a degree that lives were changed forever. Thousands of lives were lost, everything seemed to come to a stand still.
I still remember the day as if it was yesterday. I start work at 7am, which is where I was when I heard the news. It was very surreal, we turned on the television, but it just didn't seem real. I recalled that old movie 'war of the worlds' and was waiting for someone to say that this was just a movie. This wasn't really happening. But that didn't happen.
I think the only good that came from this moment in time, not unlike any event like this, is that it brought people together. People gave their money, their time, their lives for other people.
But it has not ended there, I look at the papers today and read about the crisis in Iraq. How many lives from both soldiers and civilians have been lost. What about the abuse of Iraqi detainees? I view the actions of these upstanding American soldiers and am totally appalled. There is no excuse for treating people in this manner, whether they have committed criminal acts or not. There is a criminal justice system in place to hand out sentences, it is not for soldiers to punish. It causes me to wonder about the mental state of some of our high ranking officials. What type of person can make another human being pose in various de-humanizing ways? Of course, these are just our soldiers trying to interogate prisoners? Not good enough, and I hope the appropriate actions will be taken.
But for those who lost loved ones on September 11, I send you my condolences.
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