This is about the time of year where the majority of Americans on Fubar become flag-waving patriots, shouting "We Will Never Forget!" and spouting anti-alien sentiments.
A couple of nights ago, I was watching Rescue Me seasons one and two on DVD. For those who are deprived enough not to have seen this series yet, it stars Denis Leary as firefighter Tom Gavin, who works in a firehouse in post-9/11 downtown Manhattan. His crew has all been touched in one way or another by the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center; they lost four of their own members, including Gavin's cousin.
The thing that makes this series unique is that the firefighters are portrayed as anti-heroes, not necessarily heroes; they battle chemical dependencies, sexual addiction and general anxiety as the series progresses.
I bring up this series because it seems like everyone had a story about 9/11, usually some tearjerker that implies they were hit harder than they were. The truth is, as Ladder 62's Lt. Kenneth "Lou" Shea (John Scurti) discovered in a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder meeting he attends, very few people were actually directly affected. Most weren't there. In fact, most weren't even in the same area code as the event, yet it's a perfect excuse for them to medicate themselves or whine or cry about what September 11th did to them. (Shea, rightfully so in my opinion, walks out on the meeting.)
Okay, you're probably waiting for my point. Well, here it comes.
It's OK to remember them: police, firemen, EMTs, Port Authority workers, Cantor-Fitzgerald employees, passengers, loved ones. It's NOT OK to pretend you were a victim when you weren't.
I lived in New York City all of my life, until last October when I moved to the Dallas Metroplex. What was I doing on that day? I woke up, got dressed, and prepared to head to work... in a mall. In Long Island. Away from Ground Zero. I saw the towers fall on television. I didn't breathe the contaminated air. I did see the smoke from miles away. I'm not dying of smoke inhalation, nor do I have PTSD. When I got to Roosevelt Field Mall, it was empty, but I still showed up for work.
Yes, it took me five years before I got the courage to get into an airplane again, but I've flown more this year than I have in my entire life, collectively. You want to know why plane accidents and terrorist attacks are newsworthy? It's because they rarely happen. Car accidents happen all the time. I've never been in one that's made the news.
Don't take tomorrow off of work. Don't treat tomorrow as any more special a day than any other day. If you want to celebrate somehow, celebrate by doing your normal daily activities. Or, better yet, celebrate by enjoying yourself. most of all, celebrate by not scaring the hell out of yourself (or having the terrorists, the media, and the government do it for you).
Taking it a step further: go rent Rescue Me. There are at least 3 seasons out. Damn good series.
