A 9/11 thought

I'm not a political being and I don't try to understand most major issues, but one interesting subtlety in terms of the upcoming commemoration of the 9/11 anniversary has caught my attention.

This year (on Sunday) we will be marking 10 years since the country was attacked. 10 Years. I have been working to put that into context for a while, now. What I am left with is a comparison to other such horrors.

I won't compare this to events in other countries, especially ones where, sadly, terrorist attacks are more frequent and the per capita equivalent mortality statistic is significantly higher. I'm comparing this to the US. The only similar situation I can think of is Pearl Harbor. True, it isn't identical for SO many reasons, but it will serve my purposes for this post.

Ten years after Pearl Harbor, the world had changed markedly. WWII had been over for 6 years and the US was already focusing on another area of the world. The 50's had descended in all their pea soup green Father Knows Best glory. Everything had changed.

Ten years after 9/11, we are still living, daily in its shadow. Technologically we are in a similar place. Emotionally we are in a similar place. Geo-politically we are in a similar place. Some of these don't change because the nature of the event was different. Different bad guys, location, methodology. But maybe WE are part of the equation and we react differently now. I don't know.

I just wonder if in 1951, Pearl Harbor seemed as fresh and raw as 9/11 does now.