9/11 and Spending Money

Obviously, my most poignant memory of 9/11 was watching the Twin Towers come down. I also felt sad for the people directly affected by the tragedy. I lived thousands of miles away at the time, but I still remember feeling connected to strangers.

But what about after that day, when our leaders began to comfort us?

I remember President Bush telling us that we should make sure to go out and spend money so that we could keep our economy going. It would, he promised, be a way to defy our enemies, who seemed bent on destroying our financial well-being as a country. I remember think about how odd that sounded.

And I am profoundly relieved that so far we haven’t turned 9/11 into an orgy of spending, like so many of our days of remembrance. We’ve turned Memorial Day, and even Veterans’ Day to a lesser extent, into holidays focused on materialism. Maybe it’s a good thing that “Patriot Day” hasn’t been granted holiday status.

Instead, in my community, the anniversary of 9/11 has become a day of service. Instead of rushing out to buy things, community members try to perform meaningful service for others in the spirit of unity and compassion that marked the days after 9/11.

No need to spend money at all.