Remembering September 11: Flying Our American Flags Every Day

So with the anniversary of September 11th fresh on America's mind, I've noticed the reemergence of all things red, white, and blue. More specifically, our national flag. Flags. Flags. Flags. Everywhere. More prominent and present than anti-Bush bumper stickers, which are proving to be a popular find these days even in a Bible belt Christian conservative state like North Carolina.

It all started this year approximately a week and a half before September 11th. Small flags were hung in the windows of small diners. The words, God Bless America posted in bold black letters on the nearest Wendy's sign as if it were unveiling a new Spicy Chicken combo. I even saw a few flags flapping in the wind that were fastened to oncoming cars. At first glance I thought they were maybe NC State flags celebrating the start of their program's basketball season, but I realized soon enough that they were supporting a different kind of team: the unity of our country.

It's a beautiful thing, really, to see millions of people across the country unite to show love for the freedom and the hardship we endured to realize this freedom. Over a weekend in September I watched several September 11th docu-dramas, and each time it never failed. Liquid pain, in the form of a tear, appeared at my eyes and crashed down my cheeks like the twin towers collapsing. I blinked my vision back into place, reliving the same emotions I felt five years ago when September 11th was all just breaking news, and the body count had not yet been determined.

I remember where I was the moment I got the news. This was my generation's Kennedy Moment. This was the moment my mother always the recalls with great detail, the moment in her life she knew exactly where she was, who she was with, and what she was doing at the time he was assassinated. My Kennedy moment started the morning of September 11th like any other. I was a senior in college, two semesters away from graduation, semesters that were filled with electives and senior papers. I had a late class that morning, and at nine o'clock I was still sleeping off the remnants of a hangover. Shortly thereafter, I received a phone call from my mother in a panicked voice. I picked the phone off of my nightstand in time before my voicemail took action and noticed something was immediately wrong. Little did I know we were now entering the world of Post 911, a time filled with amber alerts and strict airport searches. Turn on the television, my mother instructed immediately. Something's happened. A plane has hit the World Trade Center. I shot to life, threw the covers off of me and trotted into the living room where the television was. There was no need to surf channels. It was on everywhere. I hung up with her to listened in on the news reports to get filled in on what I had missed. In my lifetime up until that point, I had not known terrorism. I knew about the USS Cole, the attacks on the World Trade Center in 1993, but those were all considered minor attacks. The news reporter was right in the middle of contemplating whether or not this was an accident or a terrorist plot when his confusion was no longer and we immediately knew what we were dealing with. A second plane, right before my eyes, hits the second Twin Tower. This was no accident by any means.

I was glued to the television, not yet taken the courtesy to dress but still remained in my boxers, watching in horror as things developed. The smoke. The fires. The replayed footage. Police sirens. Firemen. The jumpers. The collapse. The collapse again. The rescue. It was a lot of emotion to take in a matter of hours. High Point University had broadcasted they would be closing classes later that day for security reasons so it made the drama hit home that much more. We went back the next day. I went to my Politics class and we spoke about the matter in great length. It was clear my professor was bothered.

That was how it unfolded in my life. Every individual has their own Kennedy moment and how they were affected about the events of September 11th. Today, I have no choice but to question our nation's state of patriotism. I'll elaborate, b/c I know you've got that, What the hell is Ben talking about? look plastered all over your face.

The first flag I saw, a week and a half before the anniversary, was hung half mass on a crane off of Eastwood Rd. Being that we still had a few weeks before the anniversary, I immediately thought, What's wrong? What happened? Had Mel Gibson gotten another DUI and made more slanderous comments about Jews? Then, a few minutes later, I realized the blunder and the obvious upcoming date. But it's sad to me. I'm guilty of it, I clearly admit it. But most, and yes you are more than likely included in this demographic so don't try and weasel your way out of it, most people recognize and raise American flags during holidays like the fourth of July, landmark dates for our country, or when a prominent political figure dies. Why only then? Why must it be an event? Isn't our country's existence proof enough to hang a flag? Isn't that tragic?

Why must we "relive" these moments in life as opposed to always keeping them close? It shouldn't take a designated date. Flags shouldn't be reminders. They should be our direction. What we strive for. How we live. They are not meant to be packed away like a plastic Christmas tree, dusted off one time a year and put out on display to show our annual patriotism. They should remain flying by our doorsteps, honoring those who have died for this country included the ones that Bush sent out currently for an unnecessary war. And by the way, Iraq had nothing to do with Afghanistan, Bin Laden, or September 11th. So please don't try to connect the dots between our current war and September 11th. That war is in Afghanistan. Iraq and Afghanistan are not the same country for those that are completely blind. So those Now you know we are at war emails that are circulating with emotional pictures of the trade towers collapsing are nothing but a cheap, conservative jab that is absolutely unwarranted and a desperate attempt to reestablish Dub's credibility. Anyways, different article, another time.

Has September 11th become commercialized? Will it ever be? Like some sort of holiday, how long will it be before we're celebrating September 11th with fireworks, days off at school, or even a holiday where Godiva chocolates and Hallmark cards are required to loved ones? Will there be decorations involved? It's become all too routine. Fourth of July means bbq's, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, days at the beach. Christmas means presents, shopping, trees, eggnog. September 11th means getting out the flag, watching the documentaries like it's How the Grinch Stole Christmas in December. The routine has taken out the true meaning of why we celebrate. (Independence of our country, birth of Christ, the biggest terrorist act our country has ever seen.) The answer is yes. It has been commercialized. Sounds horrible, huh? Do you remember the whole Freedom Fries thing? Yep. I know. 'm good.

It's true. Don't even try and deny it. America has ADD. We love a temporary fix. We get bored easily. The news shows it everyday. They latch on to some obscure topic so that it draws our interest in. Natalie Holloway becomes missing in Aruba, while hundreds of others in small town USA go missing each day? Why focus on her? Because we need a story. We need emotion. We need a fix. Then we'll move on to the next. Like Jon Benet's killer confessing to the crimes. Paris Hilton getting a DUI. And finally, September 11th. We'll relive these emotions for around a week more and then we'll pack up our flags, label the box September 11th Stuff, stash in our attic and move on to the next holiday.

September 11th should be everyday. We should toss out all current calendars and have them reprinted with the words September 11th symbolizing each day so that we never forget what it's like to have lost, whether it's a loved one or a piece of us inside. It shouldn't take one day a year to feel something. To feel those raw emotions we felt five years ago. It should be branded on us like a tattoo.

All I'm saying is keep the flags up. Don't commercialize September 11th. Documentaries should be shown in months other than just September. The families that had loved ones to die that day surely don't just feel the pain they lost only one day a year.

It's a wound that should never heal.