Firstly, I offer the the appropriate respect and solemnity for the event itself. And secondly I will offer the thought that at this point it seems almost self-indulgent to consider the anniversary of this tragedy a somehow greater cause for sorrow than the very real tragedies everywhere on this precious planet.
I'm sure I've said something similar somewhere at BetterMost before: the suffering and pain of this event is the suffering of famine in the Sudan, war in Iraq, genocide in Rwanda, earthquakes in Pakistan, bombs in India, poverty in North Korea, suicide in France, child abuse in Russia, political corruption in Brazil, economic devestation in Congo, pollution in the Arctic...
That we are united in our sorrow and grief and tragedy is at least to be united. There is no story more important - no sorrow worse than your own. For me the anniversary is a reminder of what Golda Meier said: "There will be no peace in the Middle East until the Arabs love their children more than they hate the Jews."
Tragedy can only end when love is more powerful than hate ~ in our own hearts, minds, words, actions, relationships, philosophies, politics, and policies.