The Obligation of Memory

(photo collage from Salon.com cover story)

Here's why I hate the Bush Administration. I can't just have my memory of 9/11 without feeling that they have capitalized on it, trivialized it, and reduced it to some triumphant oath of loyalty to them.

I have long since turned my eyes away from those burning buildings, the way I now turn them away from the flooded streets, and make myself remember that the feelings of unity, humanity, caring, and charity are mine. They do not belong to this group of incompetent, thieving, conniving bastards. The Pentagon-produced 9/11 parade is a celebration of lies, on the streets where our freedoms are diminished daily. There is no corruption too flagrant or obscene to be beyond their entertainment.

I choose only to remember 9/11 as it was. We hiked the high Sierra at 10,000 feet while the city of New York trembled. We cried at the side of mountain streams and wondered at the fate of loved ones. We cut our vacation short to be home in the time of crisis. We thought it was the least we could do.