The Salad Days

This image means something to those of us old enough to remember.

For those of you who know me, you know that I am not terribly patriotic. I see this country as a temporary home, one with things I like and things I dislike. For instance, I like the fact that I could move to Minnesota and buy a house with no problem. I also enjoy the fact that I have never been in favor of the Iraq war, and so far no one has come to my door and offered me a trip to prison. I don't enjoy this country's arrogance. We are a self centered, materialistic people. We lack any sense of context in this world. This is seen in so many different ways it is pointless to attempt a list.

Having said that, three things happened today that make me think about perception and how much certain things mean things to people. At Trader Joe's this morning, someone asked me the date. When I replied that it was the eleventh of September, I was greeted by silence. For those of us of a certain age, this day will never again be just another day. Perception is everything.

Later on today, it occurred to me that though December 7th does mean something to me, it will never mean what it does to my grandparents, because the violent acts of that day occurred 34 years before I was born. As an American, I know about it, but I never think about it at the mere mention of December 7th.

Finally, my wife informed me of another interesting perception of my daughter's today. They shopped at the Mall of America today, and apparently, there was an enormous flag draped in front of the elevator, some three stories high (after all, we are a people with a knack for the subtle). Corrie's reaction was: "Look at the enormous pretty flag." While others looked thoughtfully upon the flag, my daughter only saw the pretty banner.

This day will never mean the same thing to her, because she didn't watch the towers fall, and see, for the first time, a press corps and a nation completely taken off guard by something. The violence of that day does not stand out to me. People have been killing for theological reasons since day 1 (Cain killed Abel over religion if you think about it). What does stand out to me is that in a nation so proud and so confident, for one day we were shocked. And that is worth remembering. We do not control our own destiny nearly as much as we would like to think. The violence of others did not shock me, but the sadness of the loss of life affected me like it did every other American.