THOUGHTS ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11

I debated long and hard about saying anything at all regarding the events of September 11, 2001, figuring it’s such a personal subject and people were going to be over-inundated with images and tributes and things of that nature already. All of it well intentioned to be sure, but maybe another personal reflection or opinion on the events of September 11 is the last thing anyone needs. I guess I can’t say for sure, but if that’s the last thing YOU happen to need, feel free to exit now. No hard feelings.

At the end of this internal debate, I decided to put some thoughts to paper (or cyber-paper, in this case) if for no other reason than to take a step back from everything I’m thinking and feeling with the hope of gaining a wee bit of perspective. If anything I happen to say strikes a chord with you, all the better. After all, that’s all part of building community, which is exactly what we’re trying to do here at The Mountain.

At this very moment in time, I’m 37-ish years old. The only reason that’s particularly relevant at this juncture is that when you think about it, people my age happened to miss (through no fault of our own) some of the most important, and difficult, moments in American history.

I wasn’t alive when JFK was shot. Ditto for Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. I missed World War II by a good 25 years and the large majority of the Cold War as well. Vietnam ended when I was 4 years old. Without belaboring the point, I’m sure you get where I’m heading here….

I hope it’s not an overgeneralization (forgive me if it is) to say that lots of people my age have grown up taking liberty and freedom somewhat for granted. I mean if you’re anywhere close to my age you spent your formative years in the 1980’s. Can you think of any decade in history that was LESS about liberty and freedom and MORE about things that don’t really matter at all than the 80s??????

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not pointing fingers here. Or if I am, I guess I’m pointing the finger at myself. It’s not necessarily anyone’s fault, it’s just the way things look from where I sit.

One of the ONLY potential upsides (and I hate to use that word but….) I can see from the events of last September 11 is that many, many, many people, myself included, came to understand how very precious our freedom is, how unique our nation is, and how it falls to each and everyone of us to understand, support, and foster that belief in ourselves, our communities, and our children.

Now don’t get me wrong here. I’m not now nor have I ever been an advocate of “blind faith” in anything or anyone. There is no person, no organization, no socio-political structure, and certainly no government that should be considered ABOVE questioning from the people…..ever.

So I don’t subscribe to that “My Country- Love it or Leave it” belief system, in other words. My system is more “My Country. Love it no matter what, but don’t be afraid to try and change the things you don’t like and if you don’t try to change anything then you don’t get to complain”.

Sure, it’s a bit on the wordy side and probably won’t fit on a bumper sticker, but I’m not sure personal philosophies belong on bumper stickers anyway, so what the hey.

All I really know for sure is that I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing on September 11, 2001, just like you do. And as I watched the news that day and the days that followed, I rode an emotional roller coaster that was probably a lot like the one you rode.

I talked to my friends and neighbors. I called my family. I sat. I waited. I tried to make sense out of what I was seeing and hearing but I couldn’t, and still can’t really, get my arms around the whole thing, if you know what I mean.

On the evening of September 11, 2001, I went outside to take my garbage to the curb. As I came out of my garage, I saw a couple of my neighbors hanging American Flags outside their house. And at that particular moment I experienced a degree of inner turmoil I hadn’t felt before or since.

On the one hand I was sad beyond words over the senseless violence we all witnessed and the needless loss of innocent lives, all for what? What could possibly be accomplished by something like this? What should we as a people, and I as an individual, learn from these events?

I thought long and hard about the people on those planes, and the people in the World Trade Center who’d never see their loved ones again. And I thought about my family and my community and how, like freedom, they’re such easy things to take for granted.

And in the midst of my grave, grave sadness, I looked at those American Flags flying up and down my street and at that moment, I was more proud to be an American than I had ever been in my entire life.

Today, September 11, 2006, I sat in the studio at 99.5 The Mountain and thought long and hard about what to say and what to do on this very strange day. An anniversary, of sorts. One that can’t really be “celebrated” in any literal sense of the word. One that we probably all wish didn’t exist. But at the same time, one that we cannot and should not ever forget.

In the end, I played some songs that I thought were important from Bruce Springsteen’s album “The Rising”. Those songs that I played helped me re-connect with both my feelings and my community and I hope they served a similar purpose to you.

Great artists and great songs are tremendously important, especially in times of difficulty, because the gift of the artist is being able to give voice to things that we all feel but can’t find the words to express. That’s just one of the many ways that art and music connect people across boundaries, across races, across religions, across ideologies, and across the world.

So that’s why I played what I played today and that’s why I said what I said and left the “other stuff” for this forum.

Feel free to send me any thoughts you might have on this subject or any other. It may take me awhile to get back to you, but eventually I will.

Thanks for listening. And thanks for taking the time to read this massive missive.

I’m going to go be with my family and try to re-commit to the idea of remembering what’s really important in the world and how precious life really is.

I hope you have time to do the same.

Mike Casey