On Memorial Ceremonies

I don't like commemorating a day during which innocent people died in a horrifying attack on this country. It's not that I don't mourn for those people and for their families or that I don't appreciate the efforts of the hundreds of men and women who died trying to help others. I do, on both counts. But I think that the best thing we can do for those people—and for ourselves—is to lay them and our memories of them to rest and to move on. And while some may argue that these memorials and celebrations are a way of doing just that, I still feel a bit like we're remembering too much for the sake of keeping the wound fresh, the scar visible. I, for one, would rather be the American who heals, whose identity includes those who fell innocently and bravely, but who is committed enough to the horrific memory of that day to not dwell upon it, however momentarily.