NY911

Walking 100 blocks from the upper east side to lower Manhattan at sunrise on the 5th anniversary of 9/11 --- it was the most humane that ungodly island has ever appeared, to my eyes. No honking, no shouting into cell phones, no inane conversations or pointless arguments. Just thousands of people walking and working in silence. It seems it takes utter catastrophe to wake the comatose from their reverie, to inspire thought beyond self. The problem is that they hit the snooze button and immediately fall back to sleep.

In retrospect, 9/11 did nothing for the United States. We are mostly the same now as we were on 9/10/2001, if not slightly more innoculated to genuine caring, and with perhaps slightly more hubris. We have truly seen it all, and it is all boring. So what is our day of remembrance? A quieter-than-usual morning in Manhattan --- the island where everyone is always talking over each other, but never listening in return. Tomorrow, things will be back to normal.