It is a Moral Duty to Never Forget 9/11

Our society is used to horror. We watch movies that show the cruelty and evil in our midst and happily applaud the behavior we see on screen. The success of franchises such as "The Purge", "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and "Saw" is a case in point. The same is true of many popular video games, such as "Mortal Kombat" and "Call of Duty." In "Manhunt," players are required to kill gang members in gruesome fashion; the more gruesome the death, the higher the score. The game is so violent that Germany banned it entirely. But for fans of this genre, the bloodier the better.

Some would say that horror movies and violent video games are harmless entertainment designed to distract us from real life. The problem, I think, is that we're too used to real-life horrors, and our response as a society is largely to take them in stride.

I think this is also happening with the memory of 9/11.

We need only think of mass school shootings to see how this happens. The Columbine shooting in 1999 shook the nation. A few years later, in 2007, dozens of people died in a shooting at Virginia Tech. In 2021, twenty first graders and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Parkland, Sante Fe, Umpqua, Red Lake, Santa Monica, Uvalde ... the list goes on. After each shot we would collectively shake our heads and utter a few empty platitudes before going about our regular lives.

Only seven months have passed since the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine. The outrage was palpable when Russia attacked. Zelensky's heroism stole the headlines. Americans wondered how to help Ukraine, sent donations, waved yellow and blue flags. The flags may still be on our lawns, but the atrocities are rarely mentioned in ordinary conversation.

Consider...