Eight Years Since 9-11

Eight years since 9-11. They said at the time that nothing would ever be the same. In fact, everything seems the same, only more so.

Reading articles and watching videos before today's show reminded me what a scary day 9-11 was. Certainly there's been no similar experience in my lifetime. As I mentioned on the air, it really hit home for me a couple of years ago when I visited ground zero in New York. I was unprepared for the flood of emotion as I stood at the site of the fallen towers. I was also startled to see people hawking all manner of souvenir -- startled but not really surprised. This is the American way.

Obviously any loss of life is shocking and terrible. I can only imagine what the families of 9-11 victims went through, and continue to go through. Yet this event doesn't seem to have transformed us a nation in any meaningful way. We still act rashly and, in the eyes of some, arrogantly. We still place short-term gain ahead of long-term interests. We still traffic in fear as a political commodity. And, at the end of the day, we sell souvenirs.

Hearing your voices reminded me that the scars of 9-11 run deep, and perhaps that's a good thing. We want to come to terms with tragedy, but we don't want to forget it. In remembrance there is closure, and perhaps healing. I'm an optimist. I'd like to think that something positive will eventually emerge from catastrophe, that we will ultimately come together as a nation and leave divisiveness behind. We're nowhere close to that point now. Maybe one day.

Nine-eleven reminds us that there is horror in the world, but there is also hope. It is there that I choose to reside, and to await the future.

Thanks for having me today. Larry's back Monday.

-- David Lazarus