I Ain’t Skerred

I made a point not to turn on the TV today. Not to open the newspaper, not to read the news online. I can’t take it. The last time I read or watched US coverage of a 9/11 anniversary, I spent the day in sniffles and with a heavy heart. Who wants to do that?

I was in Seattle when the Twin Towers fell. In the days that followed, I joined about 30,000 people at the Seattle Center’s International Fountain where a huge memorial was taking place. It was deeply depressing. We Americans shared in this profound sadness. We became united in our sadness.

In the days following that – and the years, for that matter – it became fear that united us. FEAR! Fear on an individual level, fear on a national level. I won’t go on a political rant here, or share anti-war sentiments and conspiracy theories, or complain about the ludicrous (and oh-my-gawd SO annoying) security measures later imposed on air travel – I just wanna say that the fear-mongering in our country is absurd.

Earlier this summer, a right-wing extremist set off a car bomb in Oslo, Norway, killing eight people. Shortly after, he posed as a police officer to gain access to a youth summer camp and killed another 69. More than half of his victims were teenagers. Norway’s prime minister described it as the country’s worst atrocity since World War II.

What the hell does this have to do with 9/11? Nothing. It doesn’t even compare.

My takeaway from the tragic incident in Norway, which occurred while I was in Barcelona, was the reaction. Many European news outlets actually used 9/11 and the US’s reaction to it as an example of how Norway should NOT react to the attacks. An editor at Norway’s Dagbladet newspaper put it this way:

We must avoid being preoccupied by fear, like the US was after 11 September 2001. Rather, we must look to Spain and England and how the people of those nations recovered their freedom after the horrible terrorist acts of 2004 and 2005.

Yeah, what he said!

Fear shmear. Here’s what I did today: while avoiding every possible source of media in the house, I enjoyed the sunshine in my parents’ backyard, lying in a hammock, reading a book and eating Doritos.

Oh. Wait. You haven’t heard from me in a few months, have you? This might be a good time to tell you: I’m back in the States!

It’s been nearly two years since I’ve been here. And I’m still proud to be an American. I just wish “fear” wasn’t so associated with the American cultural experience.