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9-11 question

Tank

Tank

Well-Known Member
Sep 13, 2008
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Niceville, FL
Watching the news this morning and seeing the White House give a moment of silence at the time when the first plane hit the first tower made me wonder:

How many more years will the people of the US keep reflecting on the events of 9-11 and keep on posting what they were doing that tragic day on Facebook and when a moment of silence will no longer happen?

Yes, it was a tragic day and I remember that day like it happened yesterday but when is it time to move on and just know that something very bad happened that changed the course of the U.S. occurred? When does 9-11 become another day like December 7th (Pearl Harbor)?

Just curious what others think...
 
Tank said:
Watching the news this morning and seeing the White House give a moment of silence at the time when the first plane hit the first tower made me wonder:

How many more years will the people of the US keep reflecting on the events of 9-11 and keep on posting what they were doing that tragic day on Facebook and when a moment of silence will no longer happen?

Yes, it was a tragic day and I remember that day like it happened yesterday but when is it time to move on and just know that something very bad happened that changed the course of the U.S. occurred? When does 9-11 become another day like December 7th (Pearl Harbor)?

Just curious what others think...
Click to expand...

To answer the broad point of your question: Eventually, major reflections will come mainly in 5-year increments, then 10. Then 20, 25, 50, etc.

That's how these things (usually) go.
 
Tank said:
Watching the news this morning and seeing the White House give a moment of silence at the time when the first plane hit the first tower made me wonder:

How many more years will the people of the US keep reflecting on the events of 9-11 and keep on posting what they were doing that tragic day on Facebook and when a moment of silence will no longer happen?

Yes, it was a tragic day and I remember that day like it happened yesterday but when is it time to move on and just know that something very bad happened that changed the course of the U.S. occurred? When does 9-11 become another day like December 7th (Pearl Harbor)?

Just curious what others think...
Click to expand...

People did not see Pearl Harbor on the television sets, and at that time Hawaii was not part of the 50 states. This was the worst single attack on U.S. soil ever.. And the 3000+ people who died, were not soldiers or part of any War

While I agree a person has to move on and I think the country has as a whole, does not mean we should forget what happened on that day and I don't have any problem, people taking a moment of silence to remember those we lost.

i would guess it will be reflected upon for at least 25 years (so another 13) at minimum.
 
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Let me clarify.

You're right, Dec 7th is definately not just another day but we do not hold moments of silence on that day and we do not re-live what happened every year on that day.

Just wondering how many years have to pass before Sept 11th and Dec 7th are comparible to how the nation acts on that particular day.
 
bringmagicback said:
Ummm...I think most people dont think Dec 7th is just another day. If they do they should re think that.
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sure about that? Dec 7th will get a mention on the news, maybe a little blurb on cnn.com or foxnews.com. But that's basically it for national attention. For the vast majority of people, it's a day like any other. And that's not bad. That's just the effect of time. Once upon a time, March 6th was a day that people stopped to remember, but 180 years later, it loses its punch. People forget. That's just the way of things.
 
I think the biggest difference is you weren't alive for Pearl Harbor. Most Americans alive now, weren't alive for Pearl Harbor.

9/11 on the other hand, everyone still remembers.

9/11 is still an actual memory. Dec 7 is history we learned about. That's why 9/11 to you is "more visible" I guess. Just as Dec 7 is likely "more visible" to those that either lived through it, or lost a family member.

I would imagine that while the population is made up mainly of people who lived through and witnessed 9/11, you will see more of an "active" remembrance, if that makes sense.
 
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Tank said:
Let me clarify.

You're right, Dec 7th is definately not just another day but we do not hold moments of silence on that day and we do not re-live what happened every year on that day.

Just wondering how many years have to pass before Sept 11th and Dec 7th are comparible to how the nation acts on that particular day.
Click to expand...

probably once their spouses, children, family members, & friends no longer keep wishing to attend the events like the reading of the names.
 
Tank said:
Let me clarify.

You're right, Dec 7th is definately not just another day but we do not hold moments of silence on that day and we do not re-live what happened every year on that day.

Just wondering how many years have to pass before Sept 11th and Dec 7th are comparible to how the nation acts on that particular day.
Click to expand...

I guess I must notice things different....I know every year they have a moment of silence in washington and there are many tv shows ect shown on that day. To be more towards your point, when the generation that watched it happen dies, we will forget.
 
I am thinking it also has to start with the news agencies (Fox, CNN, etc...) and their coverage of 9-11. Once that happens, things will change.
 
The majority of Americans today weren't alive for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The majority of Americans today WERE alive for 9/11.

As a student at Iowa State in History Education, the question I've been thinking about the last week or so is how will 9/11 be taught in the classroom. The students I will end up teaching weren't even born in 2001, so they will have no memory on what happened. My guess is that it will be something we reflect on at least until the 20th anniversary, but also by that time, it will be taught in American History classrooms as if it were Pearl Harbor for those posters that were in high school the last year or so and beyond.

I don't even think 9/11 is even being talked about yet in schools, now that I think about it.
 
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Its already been hit on, but the fact that so many have a personal connection because of seeing this live will make this event live on for a lot longer time than other tragic events. I actually wrote a paper about this in college back in '02 and talked about how this would probably happen. Wish I would have saved it. It talked about the evolution of media coverage of wars from the Revolutionary war up through watching one start right before our eyes on 9/11.
Some of our parents and grandparents generations have an event that they all remember where they were, Kennedy being shot, but they only remember where they were when they learned it happened, not actually watching it happen. The Hindenburg explosion happened live on the radio, but so many people didn't even have a radio when that took place.
 
wartknight said:
Its already been hit on, but the fact that so many have a personal connection because of seeing this live will make this event live on for a lot longer time than other tragic events. I actually wrote a paper about this in college back in '02 and talked about how this would probably happen. Wish I would have saved it. It talked about the evolution of media coverage of wars from the Revolutionary war up through watching one start right before our eyes on 9/11.
Some of our parents and grandparents generations have an event that they all remember where they were, Kennedy being shot, but they only remember where they were when they learned it happened, not actually watching it happen. The Hindenburg explosion happened live on the radio, but so many people didn't even have a radio when that took place.
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I think basically everyone had a television and was glued to it when Kennedy got shot.
 
Mr Janny said:
sure about that? Dec 7th will get a mention on the news, maybe a little blurb on cnn.com or foxnews.com. But that's basically it for national attention. For the vast majority of people, it's a day like any other. And that's not bad. That's just the effect of time. Once upon a time, March 6th was a day that people stopped to remember, but 180 years later, it loses its punch. People forget. That's just the way of things.
Click to expand...

I have a different perception... December 7th around Spokane (big military town by the way) always means lots and lots of Honor Flight mention (getting WW2 vets to the memorial which is a huge waste of money IMHO) and always highlighting how many WW2 vets die each and every day. Always rememberances in our local (nothings local really anymore is it?) rag. Lots of human interest stories on vets who work the schools, etc...

What IIII want to see go away is the whole "hero" moniker. I won't give my specific thoughts but lets just say folks that die on their jobs that are SUPPOSED to be doing dangerous things may not ALL be "heros".

But don't you DARE start messing with Guy Fawkes day!
 
It will be a major day for as long as those living as older children and adults are alive. Then it will be observed more like pearl harbor has become (as most wwii people are now dead or very elderly).
 
I think that day has essentially defined the American Identity for over the last decade, at least for young people. Between Afghanistan and Iraq, the USA has been at war for about half of my life. That does something to a generation. The rate of exposure to every little thing that happens these days means this event stays in focus for quite a while because footage, personal recollections, and reactive legislature exists today.

For (an extreme) lack of a better way of saying this, you could say that the event and its aftermath was turned into a marketing ploy by the govt and the media to meet certain agendas. Society kind of rode the wave into 2 wars, the PATRIOT Act, Gitmo, the NSA, the Recession, etc. all within a pretty short amount of time. The landscape of the US is drastically different compared to before 2001, and 9/11 could be considered the catalyst to the changes that came about and are still happening 12 years later (and beyond).

Frankly, I will always support and memorialize the victims of the attack, as well as the troops that made the ultimate sacrifice in war. Someday when I am a father, I hope to teach my children about the nature of the event and how it shook the USA. I'll leave out the conspiracy theories and all that mumbo jumbo considering 3000 innocent people died that day. Hopefully, that will be the way it is taught in schools.
 
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I think these touchstone events change as the generations move along. There is a whole group of kids in school today who have no direct memory or very little memory of 9/11. Time has a way of changing the perception of the severity of a particular incident to some degree.

December 7th is a significant day in history, but it means less personally to people today with each passing year. Kennedy's assassination (which was 50 years ago this fall, believe it or not) tends to not hold the relevance to those of us who were not here as it does to those who recall it from tv and radio in 1963. The Challenger explosion in 1986 doesn't have the same intensity for younger people today as it did back then for those of us who were school-aged and grew up with the idea of regular space travel (and the first teacher in space).

9/11, while probably the most significant event in U.S. history since the end of WWII, will probably fade slowly over time (but never totally, obviously). The only real difference is that 9/11 was so insanely well-documented that there are constant reminders to those who witnessed that day unfold, but also to those who have and will come after that date.

We should not forget what happened, and I don't believe we ever will as long as the United States exists. There are still images that bring me to tears when I see them. I doubt that will ever fade.
 
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