Brooding upon the Paltry

I am so utterly tired of 9/11. Everywhere I turn there is a man in overalls waving an American flag and informing all passers-by in a slurred drawl that he "will never forget!" Every newspaper I open has a photo of an overweight mother from a desolate red state; Idaho, Montana, Wyoming; screeching banshee-like howls of sorrow accompanied with a storm surge of tears. It's been five years since those melodramatic events took place, I say this trite nation needs to fall silent on the matter and move on.

I lived through 9/11, it was no big deal. People died, yes, but people die every day due to a multitude of endeavors; from autoerotic asphyxiation to bloodletting. But, others don't whine and cry, and wail and moan about these other equally unfortunate deaths. Their friends and family say, "adios, you're a ghost," and save the rest of society from petty weeping by letting go.

Our culture isn't inundated with these people's passing. No one calls them heroes, no congressional time is wasted on how their deaths came to be, there are no front page tributes to their heroics; they are cast into the refuse bin of history, never to be lauded for their last moments on earth. And for no other reason than that they were unlucky enough to not die in a "national tragedy."

Maybe these forgotten souls wanted to be remembered just as much those capitalist fat cats that worked in the World Trade Center. I know my dearly departed cat, Sir MacKenzie, had the highest of hopes for his life, similar to the repeatedly honored 9/11 victims, but he is never mentioned as a hero, victim, or tragic character. The anniversary of his death came and went, and there were no memorial funds raised in his memory, no annual reading of his name, no marble engravings in homage of his consequential, yet all too short, life. He is doomed to be forever stricken from the pages of history. A being that was near and dear to the hearts of all whom were graced with his presence. This is the true tragedy of 9/11.

I love you Sir MacKenzie.