I was in 2nd grade on September 11, 2001.
I was old enough to mostly understand what happened.
I was young enough to respond by pretending I was a Jedi trying to defeat the terrorists.
In June of this year, I visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. I was a chaperone on a middle school trip and I walked through the museum with a couple of 5th grade boys.
I was quiet, they were curious. I felt heavy, they did not seem to be burdened.
The same can be said for our brief visit to the Holocaust Memorial in Boston a couple of days earlier:
I walked slowly, most of the kids moved quickly. Tears welled up in my eyes, most of the kids wondered what was next.
Why was their experience so different from my own? Why did they not feel what I felt?
Because I remember.
It is not their fault that they do not understand. They are young, not yet burdened by the knowledge of evil.
But as they grow, they will begin the take on the weight that each generation must faithfully bear and that each generation must diligently pass on to the next:
The weight of memory.
We remember in honor of those whose lives were snuffed out by hatred. We remember so that we may guard our world from present evils. We remember to remind ourselves that hatred and evil lives also within us. We remember so that one day our children might have less weight to bear.
Today I will remember the lives of those lost on 9/11. I will remember the lives of our soldiers who died far from home.
I will remember the lives of those lost in the Holocaust. I will remember the lives of those lost at the hands of slave traders. I will remember the lives of those lost in the genocide of Native Americans. I will remember the lives of those lost to drones and bombs and bullets.
Today I will remember that violence only begets violence and that hatred is a self-inflicted wound. I will remember to love my enemies and pray for those who persecute me that I may be like my creator and one with all creation.
May we all remember and may we work to lighten the load.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven…” — Jesus of Nazareth
