Reflections on September 11

My parents were supposed to fly on September 11, 2001, and my wife's parents flew over the burning buildings on their way to Boston that day.  They landed at Logan Airport, where two of the planes had taken off from, and saw first-hand a small portion of the chaos that day touched off.  My parents ended up driving home from Colorado, and were safe at home soon, but the eerie silence of no planes in the sky is one haunting memory from that day.  I also remember being on top of the World Trade Center not that long before -- 1996 or so -- and thinking the building served like an urban park.  I want to remember some of these things because they are gone now, and politics have become the focus on a day that is still raw with emotion for many people.  People who haven't lost anyone in particular seem more political than the actual victims' families, although the families too are politicized in their fight to keep the memory of the victims alive.  It seems there's no avoiding divisive ideas like book-burning and cultural centers near hallowed ground, but those fights seem trivial compared to the loss of life and collective innocence on that day.  My own memories are shaped by personal and political views, but I know that September 11 ought to be remembered as a day when many people lost their lives at the hands of a murderous few.  The courage of those who fought back and rushed to the aid of victims should also be remembered.  Slogans like, "Never forget," remind me of the destruction of European Jews under the Nazis -- Holocaust survivors' slogan is "never again" -- and seem designed to promote a certain view of patriotism.  There is little value in comparing tragedies in terms of number or impact on world events, but September 11 will be remembered as a turning point in world history, not only because of the wars that were launched as a result of the attacks but also because of the collective blow to the U.S's sense of security.  The end of the 20th Century is somewhat euphoric in comparison to our current fears and concerns -- there was talk of "the end of history" as I was going through my college years.  The idea was that the spread of democracy around the world had made the world so safe that history as we knew it would gradually cease to exist.  We now know that prediction did not come true.