It is hard to believe it has been four years since 9/11, and the anger is still there but the hurt has seemed to fade a little. That may not be atypical:
The first year was marked with a moment of silence, the tolling of bells and a reading of the names of the nearly 3,000 people who died. Those sad rituals continued for the second and third anniversaries of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and will be repeated once again today.
But this time, somewhere between the solemn ceremonies and memorial golf classics, there is also a search for another way to remember that is more official, unified and concrete — something to help ensure that Sept. 11 is recognized by the public and kept in boldface on every calendar for centuries.
“This one is difficult. Something like 9/11 could, at first, transcend politics and unify us as an American nation, drive us all together,” said Katherine Pratt Ewing, a cultural anthropology professor at Duke University. “But the significance seems to change every year…
Today, 9/11 means the start of the NFL season.