I didn’t post this on September 11th because even 8 years later it still seems too fresh, too real, too overwhelming. I wonder if we’ve forever damaged ourselves by not bothering to find some moniker other than the date. Pearl Harbor, the assassination of JFK, the assassination of MLK, Jr…these are all significantly traumatizing events in American history, but we don’t all collectively reflect EVERY December 7, November 22, or April 4.

Is it just that 9/11 is still raw? That it’s too soon for the wounds to have healed? Is it that, unlike those other events, we don’t (and may never have) some sort of closure? Is it that I’m too young to remember those other things? Are the internal calendars of the generations who have gone before marred with multiple corporately traumatizing events? If so, will my generation learn to live with the horrors that kept us glued to our telephones and televisions 8 years ago? I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.

Regardless, though, I do believe healing is on the horizon. This short video has been playing in my head for the last couple of days. It’s the final scene to Gangs of New York and the music is the beginning strains of U2’s “The Hands that Built America.” The skyline of NYC has changed since this video, and if history is any indicator it’ll change again and again and again. NYC is stronger for the changes shown here, and it (just as every one of us) is getting stronger every day.