Jed, I don't know about tearing off scabs...maybe. I have this very strong sense that something's terribly wrong with all this hoopla. I can't say exactly WHAT the root of that wrongness is. The biggest thing is that it seems for some to be nothing more than an opportunity to get on their soap box. It's not a memorial, it's a rally. It's political, patriotic, it's making the folks who died into martyrs so we can feel right KICKING SOME ASS. In short, it's about manipulating emotions, and it's what the media do best.

I think memorials are good. The media seem to be doing something else.