America celebrated two HUGE anniversaries in U.S. History
this week. The first occurred on
Tuesday, November 19th with the 150th Anniversary of
President Abraham Lincoln’s delivery of the Gettysburg Address. The second occurs
on Friday, November 22nd, with the 50th Anniversary of the assassination of President
John F. Kennedy.
There are a few, select dates in American History that
virtually anyone alive at the time remembers. Think April 14, 1865 and December 7, 1941, or November 22,
1963 and September 11, 2001.
Where were you when President Kennedy was assassinated? If you were alive and over the age of
five in 1963, chances are you not only remember the day, but can recall where you were and
what you were doing as well.
While attending grade school in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I remember hearing teachers
talk about their personal memories of that fateful day. I recall my fascination that they were alive on such an important – albeit tragic – date in
American History. I recently
e-mailed some family members querying their memories from the day Kennedy was
shot, and each one that responded had memories to share.
My generation's “Kennedy” moment came on 9-11. Like those with memories of '63, I remember with
crystal clarity where I was, and what I was doing that terrible day in '01.
A 22-year old college freshman at Utah Valley
University, I was on my way to attend an early morning worship service at the
Provo, Utah LDS Temple. I recall a radio announcer somewhat flippantly
announcing how a plane had apparently struck one of the towers of the World
Trade Center. Word had not yet
spread accurately, and his assumption was that some crazy – perhaps drunk –
pilot had gone and crashed a little plane into the mammoth building with little
collateral damage. Based on the tone, attitude, and misinformation of this
uninformed radio announcer, I thought little of the news as I arrived at the Temple, parked my car, and turned off the radio.
Two hours later, when I returned to my car and turned the
radio back on, it was a very different story. Nearly every channel was spreading the unthinkable news. HELL had broken loose in Lower Manhattan and the World was watching as its pillars of power crumbled into a fiery plume of destruction. When I returned to my apartment, I glued myself to the television screen. Tears came to my eyes as I
beheld the horror replayed over and over. It was surreal
– unearthly – like nothing I had
ever experienced before.
That night, my roommate began running all around the
neighborhood like Paul Revere warning of gas prices shooting to $5 a gallon,
which, in 2001, would have been truly calamitous news. His warnings turned out to be
unnecessary, but I’ll never forget the sober pall that was cast over the nation
in the days to come – the candlelight services, the prayers, and Enrique
Iglesias’ song Hero playing
repeatedly on the radio.
While it is tragic that such events such as 11-22 and 9-11 occur in the first
place, it always amazes me the profound effects
– some of them positive – it has on those who experience them.
Indeed, the development of vital human qualities such as humility,
reverence, sobriety, gratitude, and reflectiveness would be much more difficult
without disappointments, failures, grief, and yes, even tragedy. Such moments induce deep reflection,
and invite us to ponder the meaning of life, and our individual purpose here on
Earth. They create an opportunity
to consider things we normally wouldn’t amidst the hustle and bustle of our
busy schedules, endless task lists, and the relatively meaningless minutia of life.
Fortunately, such tragic moments don’t happen every
day. I would never wish such
terrible events on any person or nation. Yet I
believe there is great value that can be found in both dealing with and
reflecting back on such dates in our history – what they meant for the people
who experienced the events, and what they mean to us now.
Taking time out to remember and memorialize the tragic
events of yesteryear remind us how fragile human life is, and fill us with
gratitude for its remarkable gift for which we are all partakers. May this day of reflection and memorial
be a day of personal reflection that will make you a better person made more
grateful and compassionate by the time and effort you invest in
reflection.
To help in this reflection, I encourage perusal (click on link) of the
following websites and/or other materials.
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