Friday is September 11.On that day in 2001 our city, our country and our way of life changed forever. It was a day of tragedy unparalleled in our history.
Now, eight years on and with a new president in the White House it is, in my book, still a day of mourning, of remembrance, of observance. Not, as President Obama would have it, a day of national service and a day of looking forward.
When I heard of his plans for the day, I asked myself, “What the heck does a day of service mean and what exactly are we supposed to look forward to?” Does Obama think his grassroots agenda is what the people in this country really need to keep it together, to keep us afloat? Or, more important, does he think that’s the lip service we should pay to placate the countries that are responsible for spawning and harboring the terrorists that perpetrated those heinous acts? Why not call it as it is, President Obama — a day of terrible tragedy, a day of national sorrow.
Each year, on the 27th day of Nisan (April/May), Jews around the world observe Yom HaShoah, a day of remembrance of the Holocaust. On December 7, we in the United States observe the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. There are no fundraisers, no bake sales, no 50 percent blowout sales in the stores, no day of service and no day of looking forward.
These events are marked by our solemn remembrances, memorials and quiet observances. There has never been a movement to have those days declared a day of service or of looking forward. Nor should there be.
For ever and always, September 11 will be a day of mourning — not a day of service, lip or otherwise. President Obama can have his own ‘Day of Service,’ make his own muffins for his own bake sale, and hang his own ‘looking forward’ banner on the hook of his own grassroots agenda, but leave the rest of us and September 11 alone.
Like the Holocaust and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the soulslost in 9/11 were taken from this world by mad men. The names of the terrorists seated at the controls of those jumbo jets should be erased from all memory. For those who survived the tragedy, who lost loved ones, whose wounds are fresh and whose memories have not dimmed, no amount of service or looking forward will ever make them whole again or take away their pain. That day shredded the fabric of our existence and should always be remembered for what it was – a day of infamy.
So to President Barack Hussein Obama, keep your day of service to yourself. As far as looking forward is concerned, not for nuthin’, I’m only looking as far as election year 2012 when a new resident moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. JDelBuono@cnglocal.com.
