Patriot Day.

I know that this is probably not going to be a popular post.

Tomorrow is 9/11, which is being celebrated as Patriot Day. I remember the day vividly. I remember the lives lost that day, as well as those whose lives were lost in the wars that followed.

I’m not comfortable with it being celebrated as Patriot Day. I don’t mean this to diminish anyone who risked their lives to try to save people in the towers- or the people who sacrificed their own lives to keep Flight 93 from crashing into the Pentagon. I don’t.

It bothers me that that event has been used to incite hatred towards Muslims and people of color. I’ve seen people that I knew to be perfectly rational suddenly become distrustful of anyone who looked remotely Arabic. All because they think it makes them better Americans.

Yes, it was tragic. But trying to convince yourself that all Muslims are extremists who believe in honor killings and jihad is like believing that all Christians are homophobic individuals that believe that science is evil. It just isn’t true.

Tomorrow I’ll take a moment to remember what happened. But I think I can better honor those who died by trying to return America to the way it was on 9/10.

My previous posts about 9/11

2010 : Thoughts from a mother, 9 years later.
2011 : Sunday 9/11

(Last year I was at Disneyland with some wonderful friends. Oh how I wish I could be back there with them!)