The fifth anniversary of 9-11 is upon us. This was a terrible injury to all of us, indeed to the world. What would you think of the doctor who came in to your room and periodically ripped off your bandages, tore loose the stitches, then railed about the accident as your fever rose. Suppose he did this every time you started to heal and set you back to the time and condition of the accident? At the same time, as long as you couldn't leave the hospital, he made more money for himself and the hospital board?
I think you would have him up before the AMA for malpractice and possibly the hospital administration would be removed for allowing such a thing to happen, and to profit by it.
When 9-11 happened, the entire world was horrified. It collectively took us in its arms to comfort us. All we needed was a leader who would ask the world for help in bringing these people to justice so no one in the world need fear such acts again. Had we asked, almost every nation on earth would have turned itself inside out to bring the perpetrators to justice.
But, this is about healing, about moving on. We need to leave the bandages and the stitches in place long enough for the wound to heal. Then the stitches can be carefully removed. There will be scars, but they will fade in time. Our grief will lose its sharp edges and be replaced by memories of our loved ones. We will move on. If we try to heal, other nations will help us. Compassion is not dead in the world, though it has taken some tremendous hits in the past five years.
World War II was the greatest blood bath in history. For us, it began with the attack on Pearl Harbor and the loss of 2,388 killed and 1,178 wounded servicemen and civilians. It ended with the most horrendous act of destruction ever perpetrated, the atomic bombing of two Japanese cities.
We could have continued screaming "Remember Pearl Harbor!" to this day. We could still be putting Japanese in concentration camps. Instead, we healed, we helped Japan and Germany back to their feet, ended the occupation quickly and moved on. The result is that, though arguably not too good for our balance of trade, we drive our Hondas and Toyotas, watch our Toshiba TV's and enjoy sushi and sashimi in Japanese restaurants. We eat bratwurst and sauerkraut in hofbraus and drive Mercedes Benz and Volkswagens.
In short, we healed. We let the wounds cover over and the scars fade. We moved on and rejoined the world and life. It is time to do that again and get on with our lives.