9/11

I wish I could say that I learned something profound from the events of September 11th, 2001. Looking back at what has happened since makes me somewhat bitter since I see it as a great opportunity lost. With some painful exceptions, Americans drew, or at least seemed to want to draw, closer together afterwards, but our leaders didn't unite us as they could have; as I believe they should have.


I did learn something because of 9/11: how to make origami cranes. It was my therapy in the days that followed, when I only had broadcast television playing the mindlessly endless loops of the planes hitting, the towers falling, the rescuers searching. I made the cranes without purpose at first, although I gave them to my coworkers and friends. Then I started to stockpile them. I had a plan--I'd make a string of 366 cranes to hang on Alki's Statue of Liberty to mark the first anniversary.

Today, on the fifth anniversary, I saw MSNBC replay The Today Show's coverage from 2001. It seemed refreshing how unemotional it was, with the comment being made that the towers would have to come down after sustaining such damage. The first tower's collapse wasn't even known to be that at the time, but there wasn't speculating about what happened beyond what could be seen. Very different from George W's speech tonight, or I guess at any other time over the past five years.