Thank you for this thread, there is another one below the line refreshed from earlier retrospectives of 9.11. I am repeating my post on that thread here:

Just remember, 9/11 was not the beginning!

-Nov 4, 1979 - takeover of teheran embassy - first salvo in this third world war that has been being waged between the forces of fundamentalism (originally fundamentalist islam but the Xtian fundies are in too, now, thanks to Oslo) and the rest of civilization.

And the bombing by Hezbollah in April, 1983 that killed my father.

And all those planes blown out of the skies.

And all those embassies attacked, not just ours.

And all those hostages taken and individuals assassinated.

And the earlier bombing of the World Trade Center...

...and I would really like this list to not get longer.

Before 9/11, I spent Dad's birthday remembering how great he was and the anniversary of his death remembering how awful it is that he's still dead.

On the actual 9/11 we all kind of fell apart, I didn't realize we had PTSD but I could not do any work - how could I write marketing letters when THIS had happened?

Now I still do the death-day and birth-day rememberances for Dad, but I also spend 9/11 mourning all the dead from all the terrorist attacks.

But more than that, I spend it mourning the fact that the US government still hasn't learned anything about how to get people to stop wanting to kill us all. My family had really hoped that, as horrible terrible no good and very bad 9-11 had been, at least now the US would finally *get* it.

That they haven't, I think, may be sadder than all those deaths, dismemberments, and cripplings.