9/11 More Than ‘OMG’ Experience
Oh my God.
Many of us reserve the exclamation, no punctuation needed, for events that shock us to the core.
Like September 11.
It’s something of a prayer, really, of supplication that what you’ve seen or heard didn’t really happen.
But it did.
Nearly 15 years ago, Sept. 11, 2001, Islamic terrorists hit the United States in an attack as shocking and horrifying for many as Dec. 7, 1941 was for another generation. Nearly 3,000 people were killed. Another 6,000 or so were wounded.
It was one of those “never forget” times in our history, at least for those who experienced it at an age when they understood what was happening.
Ask a high school senior or even a college student about 9/11, however. Rare is the young adult among them who has much recollection of an event that occurred nearly 15 years ago. About one-fifth of the nation’s population — more than 66 million people — is 18 years of age or less.
To them, 9/11 is just a few pages in history books and, perhaps, what older relatives explain to them. It isn’t real as it was for older Americans. Not even the continuing war by terrorists, in which really big attacks claim several score victims, can change that.
To many of them, 9/11 is much like the attack on Pearl Harbor. It happened, but not to them.
That’s why events such as the “We will never forget” observance set for Sunday, Sept. 11, in Wheeling are so important. The remembrance and memorial is scheduled for 2 p.m. that day at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling.
School is just getting underway and that means many young people are preoccupied with any number of things, ranging from homework to catching up with friends they didn’t see during the summer. So getting them to go to the Sept. 11 event may not be easy.
If you’re a parent, grandparent or anyone else with influence over a teenager or young adult, do what you can to persuade them that going to “We Will Never Forget” is important.
There, they will see images and hear descriptions of what happened on 9/11. Just as important, they will be in an arena full of people for whom the attacks were very real.
History isn’t taught very well these days, when it is part of the curriculum at all. That’s no reflection on the many fine social studies teachers I know or have heard of. It’s more a function of modern ideas of what’s important in school and what isn’t.
It’s important, I think, for the younger generation to know that there have been many genuine “Oh my God” days, ranging from Dec. 7, 1941 to the invasion of South Korea, from the Cuban missile crisis to the news from Vietnam that another local man had been added to the casualty lists.
These days, “OMG” is typed so often it has little meaning or impact. The kids who use the abbreviation need to be reminded of a day when that was not the case, when it wasn’t a reaction to hearing that Sally is dating Joe or that someone is doing especially well at Pokemon Go.
Young people today need to understand, in short, that much of what they’re told should scare them today doesn’t even come close.
Myer can be reached at: mmyer@theintelligencer.net.
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