Catholic Sensibility

Has 9/11 changed the US? I think there is a natural human tendency to mentally bury horrific events. My wife, however, finds the focus on 9/11 bothersome, but mainly from a sense of compassion for the families of the victims. "Why do they have to be so insensitive to those who lost loved ones?" she asks. "Haven't they suffered enough?" We were at a semi-family reunion in Ohio that day. My aunt's 80th birthday was a celebration with family. Brittany got to meet her first and second cousins, uncle and aunt for the first time. My brother and I took our families to the Flight Museum near Dayton on the 10th. The whole three days had been such an excellent time. The plan for the 11th was to gather for a family lunch before we parted ways. Once the planes hit, my brother and I each thought it would be best to get home as fast as our cars would carry us. It was hard not to stay tuned to NPR on our drive. Anita and I listened in semi-shock. We prayed as we made our way along the interstate through Indiana. We saw Air Force One and its escort flying over us as we drove several miles below in Illinois. I erred in not tanking up on gas when we stopped for a snack in central Illinois around 3PM. I noted the gas station attendant taking out the 1's and putting in 2's on the price sign. I ended up not only paying a "2" price north of Peoria around 5PM, but also waiting in line with some testy people for about an hour. My wife wanted to find a motel and hide. My concern was getting across the Mississippi River. Once into Iowa, I thought I could find my way across 240 miles of anything that was open to get us home. I was going to do everything I could to get us back to Eagle Grove that night. Anita was alarmed at four police cars surrounding a nearby gas station (the one we didn't use) but we made it home without incident. There was actually some gas left in the pumps when we made Waterloo IA around 10PM. We pulled in our driveway dead tired and shell-shocked around midnight. I don't think I'm ever going to drive 600-some miles in a day ever again. I saw some other blog saying 9/11 has changed us. I disagree. If we had changed that day, people would have had a sense of pulling together and I would have seen less anger outwardly directed at other citizens and less opportunism by gas station owners. I heard the Illinois Attorney General was looking to prosecute gougers. I was too angry about it to follow through. American businesses, especially those affected by the attacks, seemed eager to return to normal. Understandable. I would be too if I owned a tourist spot or an airline. Or it could be that I haven't seen the change in American society I would wish for: greater compassion. Heck, it would be something to see Americans treat their brother and sister citizens with more kindness and respect. Instead, we have a semi-holiday of remembrance. That's fine: the liturgist in me recognizes the importance of this. But has 9/11 meant anything to any individual in terms of changing their lives for the better? I see a lot of bigotry and suspicion, especially on the internet. Anita was mentioning someone she heard on tv (?) who was calling for the eradication of all Muslims. Nice. Just throw more fuel on the fire. So maybe I'm not sure about changes. I think we could have done better. Maybe it will take a lot more time. Any thoughts out there?