The Side Burn

"Some people just want to sit back and watch the world burn," was one of the best quotes from THE DARK KNIGHT.  Not because it sounds poetic, or prophetic even--but because it is true.  And in the same breath, I am certain that it is one of the most disappointing statements I have ever heard, likely because the truth itself is often disappointing.

I had every intention of writing this anniversary piece about the sinking of the RMS Titanic.  Every year on this day, despite my not having lived through the horrific tragedy of 1912, my fascination with its haunting details seems to grow.  But how could I not write what everyone is writing about, not talk about what everyone is talking about?

Bombs.

State side.  Street side.  In America.

It seems eerie to me that I had scheduled a piece about mass casualties that transpired over a century ago--and here we are, drowning in death once again, after the horrific twin bombings at the conclusion of today's Boston Marathon.  But there is no other way to say this than to say this.  The day that I have dreaded since 9/11 is now upon us.

I told my mother, not long after the terrorist attacks of September 2001, that I was unsure of wanting to raise a child in this world.  I told her I was afraid of the unknown, a fear that I suspect even, and sometimes especially, a parent can empathize with.  She told me she understood my fear and that "these attacks" as she referred to them, felt different, and I understood her.  I felt as if they marked the end of our trust in each other and the beginning of a life of suspicion.

Sure, over the last decade, we have taken our own security for granted.  Some people have lightened up on the precautions taken in day to day life, but ultimately, it seems difficult to recall a time where we didn't travel, didn't attend events with large amounts of people, didn't suspect the worst.  For years now, we have been waiting for the other shoe to drop--the next act of terrorism on American soil.  And while today is a reminder that we no longer live in "safe society," it should, in fact, be a reminder that we never have.

Terrorism is not new.  Death, murder, carnage.  These are all age old tragedies and transgressions our ancestors, our parents, and we know all too well.  So what is different about today?

There was a period of time in this country, in the mid 1990s, when we looked at the images coming out of the Middle East, the daily cafe and bus bombings in major metropolitan areas that were killing civilian after civilian after civilian.  And there was a general consensus in this country during that time--a silent gratitude that formed in our conscience, that here in America, we may have lived in a violent country, a country that even bred the likes of Timothy McVeigh, but we certainly did not live in a country where you had to fear getting on a bus, or getting in a cab, or running a race.

That naive notion that the kind of terrorism plaguing ordinary citizens overseas on a daily basis had not made its transatlantic journey to infect even the pedestrian ways of our American life is gone.

The difference this time around is that we have been completely stripped of our freedom from fear.