Anyone else?

[Chimera]

:usa
Do any of you have a hard time with patriotic holidays since Sept Eleventh? I had a tough time when I went to our little town's Memorial Day Ceremony and saw the flag at half staff. It brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes as I thought about all of the innocent civilians (as well as veterans) that we were there to remember.
:usa
I am really almost dreading the Fourth of July this year, as I know that Sept Eleventh will be the focus of many memorials and ceremonies across the US. I still have so much grief and sadness about the attacks that I just kind of pushed aside in the months after it happened. I know that those hurts are going to be reopened, and to be honest, that thought scares me. I lived in a suburb of Washington DC last year, so those events hit very, very close to home for me. We lost several neighbors in the Pentagon attack, and we were a few miles from Patuxent River Naval Air Base in Maryland. Everything was very chaotic and traumatizing as we were so close to the capital, and I never really dealt with any of that. I wept as I watched the coverage on t.v., but what American did not? After the immediate crisis had passed, I picked up my life where I had left it and went on, as we were told to do by the leadership of our country. I know that I personally never really addressed those feelings of grief and loss that the attacks brought up, and I would imagine that this is true for many of us.
:usa
I get tears in my eyes just thinking about the Fourth of July and what that holiday means to me...especially after Sept. Eleventh. Do any of you feel the same way? Are there things that you are doing to help process those thoughts and feelings? I know that this holiday is going to be hard, but are there things I can do to make it a little easier to deal with?

:usa :usa :usa :usa :usa

[ajia]

i'm not your typical "patriot" & tend to view such things differently than others. i mean no disrespect or callousness, but the events of sept. eleventh (as tragic/senseless as they were) were a long time coming & really haven't had an impact on me one way or the next.

[PrettyKittie]

I know this is a bit of a old post I'm replying too but I wanted to just say my little bit.
September eleventh didnt only effect the states.....I think it affected the whole world.
I know that when my boyfriend and I heard we went home as soon as we could and we proceeded to watch CNN for about four days straight.. and considering we were going through some pretty bad stuff at the time (my boyfriend's dad had his first court appearence on an incident that morning where my boyfriend had to call the cops on him and we were still being told by the cops he was going to be charged with Attempted Murder)
We are both canadian and I still get choaked up thinking about all those poor people and their families......

PrettyKittie

[lovtophish]

I have to agree with Ajia. While the Sept eleventh occurance was tragic, we did have it coming in a lot of ways. I think the only way this is effecting me is how sick and tired I am of people being patriotic all of a sudden. People that never even thought of it before are suddenly waving flags and all gung--ho about America. Musicians are popping out "patriotic" songs left and right....they aren't donating the money from these songs to people, they are making a PROFIT off of this. Our country is great for so many reasons, but for just as many reasons it's not.

Steph

[Anonymous_Member003]

I guess I'm surprised this didn't happen earlier. Terrorism is sick and wrong, but it's been a scenario the US military has been expecting for at least thirty years.

It's funny. People in the military die from terrorist attacks, but people never really notice it until non-military people die. It's as if we have a segment of society who has the job to die. And they don't mind and that's the way it is... But it's still wrong.

I think that some of the people that are patriotic now are "sunshine patriots." Sure, it's easy to wave a flag now and love your country, but a year from now? Five years from now? Where was the American flag before? People shouldn't have been buying flags...they should have been using ones they already had from memorial day, you know? And a lot of flags are tattered now and in bad shape from being flown and not taken care of.

[ajia]

:hugon lovtophish :hugoff

I think the only way this is effecting me is how sick and tired I am of people being patriotic all of a sudden. People that never even thought of it before are suddenly waving flags and all gung--ho about America. i totally feel you. i can't stand all this phony "yankee-doodle" drivel.

:peace :love

[SavingSelf]

Chimera:

Sorry this is outdated; I hope things went ok for you on the fourth of July. It seems like maybe you didn't get the support here you were looking for so I want to reply even though I'm late. I have been deeply affected by the tragedy.

At first it was the tragedy itself which, alone, is a difficult thing to come to terms with. In the long term, it's difficult to come to terms with the saddness that it hasn't done much to change our culture. I only wish it would have had more of an impact on who we are as a nation.

I understand your own personal feelings regarding this situation, we were all affected differently and considering that you are so close to DC, I can only imagine how you are feeling. My husband is in the Air Force at Dover AFB and many of the Pentagon bodies were brought in by helicopter that we watched for days. I saw a friend for the first time in a year who was in NYC. He spoke of being in lower Manhattan the days after and the smell of burning is something he'll never forget. When I think about how Sept. eleventh could have directly affected my life I feel very fortunate.

If there are issues surrounding the event that you feel as though you haven't dealt with them, I encourage you to do so. Having a husband in the Air Force gives me a sense of pride that has helped me heal. I have regularly been choked up or teared at Patriotic events, I think there is a certain degree of normalcy to that. My sadness is linked to my patriotism and hope for our future as a nation. I feel at peace with my sadness and imagine that I will feel the same sense of sadness for years to come. If there are issues that you feel from this even that are disrupting your life, I encourage you to seek some kind of therapy or support group.


Good luck to you, know there are many, many others who struggle with the same feelings you are. I also encourage to post about your feelings on another one of the boards (maybe the Spirituality board or Self Esteem and Identity) because you might not get the support I get the impression you're looking for here. All the best. Karley