I Suppose I Ought...

Being the day it is I suppose I ought to make some comment.

First up- September 11 was horrible. I know that, per capita, more Australians will killed in the Bali bombing than Americans in Sep 11, but the sheer horror of the September 11 attack (not to mention the additional fact it was all recorded a thousand times over by live media and everyday folk) is unmatched in the modern era. Also, not only do I find the shots of people jumping from the towers unspeakably upsetting but what I also find upsetting is how much it fucked the world over since in changes of policy and, ahem, political action (as a adjunct to the diplomatic corps, I no longer have public political opinions but those who know me well know what I think).

And I suppose that the 5th Anniversary is a biggie...

But...

I am continually appalled at the orgy of remembrance that surrounds this event, and how the media and political parties (any political party) take as many cheap shots as they can. CNN gets to loop the worst footage over and over again, and to dare to suggest that maybe, just maybe, it's time to get on with our lives and let those people who lost friends and family have a little private time instead of being paraded in front of the cameras every September, is unpatriotic and supporting the terrorists. There was a brilliant article in either the Guardian or the New Yorker- I tend to think the former as I can't imagine an American writing this- that to hell with banning the act of gloryifying terrorism- we already do it ourselves every year on this date with our indulgences into watching the sheer spectacle of those towers collapsing (and I know an artist- Christo I believe- was castrated for saying it at the time, but it was spectacular in an absolutely horrifying, breathtaking way- if Hollywood had done we wouldn't have believed it).

I'm not explaining myself very well, but there's something a bit sick I find about the whole thing.

Anyway, for every cliched image and anecdote played on CNN, you do occasionally come across part of the memorials that is moving and in an understated, un-nationalistic way. I present to you, this image from today's New York Times. The girl in pink lost her mother, a police officer.