Remembering 9-11: “That Feeling That We Were Really All One People”

I was working with our European divisions (every Country as it was IBM) and on 9/12 they were all “We are Americans too”.

By the next day, they were back to their favorite sport, trashing America. Everyone shoots for number one, and since Bush was a republican, the hate came back quickly and with even stronger wishes for the USA to be harmed.

Let’s not forget that I’m married to a European. Her family didn’t think that we should protect our country because of the violence it would cause. They stopped being my in-laws that day and became my wife’s family. I had mentioned that this was the biggest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor.

An analyst I was forced to deal with was saying how the US didn’t have to fight 2 fronts in WWII. I calmly reminded him that we had the Japanese going on at the same time. Yes, he was an asshole and an ignorant one at that.

I don’t even go to see them anymore because the liberal press in Europe can out liberal the US liberal press. They believe every word and the hate they have for Trump is only matched by Keith Olberman and Rosie O’Donnell.

Anyway……

Next year will be the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. Most folks who were adults at that time remember it like it was yesterday.

Many of us have also had years when we’ve felt like distancing ourselves from the anniversary commemorations. Even for those not directly impacted, memories of that day—and the days that followed—still bring back traces of a trauma we’d never felt before. A feeling of insecurity we’d never experienced. Perhaps actor Tony Danza summed it up best when he said “I don’t like revisiting how I felt.”

In some ways the trauma seems to deepen with time, as new layers of grief emerge–like memories of loved ones who shared those moments but are now gone.

This year I decided to crack open the door and look back, if only for a little while.

In doing so, I came across some videos I’d never seen before–interviews with celebrities of that time period discussing where they were on 9-11.

Ten years after the attacks, producer and director David P. Levin released his documentary “When Pop Culture Saved America: A 9-11 Story.” Originally produced for A&E Networks, it explored how entertainment, comedy, and music helped Americans cope and rebuild in the months that followed. Levin spoke with numerous celebrities for the documentary, later posting extended interviews on his “Pop Goes the Culture” YouTube channel.

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They didn’t remember. The people I dealt with were happy when we got attacked every time since and were mad when we protected ourselves.