Rant #3,432: Let Freedom Ring

Today is a very solemn day.

I don't think that I have to go into everything that happened on September 11, 2001 ...

We all know it too well.

It is a day that changed our lives forever, a day that none of us can ever forget.

What I want to do in my entry today is to fast forward from that horrid day to today, 23 years later, and tie in what is being discussed today as it relates to that day more than two decades ago.

It has been discussed in the past, and has picked up steam, to make September 11 a national holiday, a national day of mourning 

The day has already been named Patriots Day, signifying those of us who somehow made it through that day and believe in our country as the greatest in the world.

It also honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice on that day to preserve the lives and freedoms of all of us.

But some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle believe we must go one step further--

We must make Patriots Day a national holiday, so we can give the proper respect to this day as a day of mourning.

I have mixed feelings about making this a national holiday--what amounts to a day off--for many of us.

The day should be given its proper respect, a day that changed our world--and perhaps the entire world--forever.

But do we need a day off to do this?

A day off--to do what those perpetrators did not want us to do, to enjoy our lives in a democracy, where we can basically do what we want in our pursuit of the American Dream, where anything is possible.

That is good, but I fear if we actually have a day off if this becomes a national holiday, the intent and meaning of Patriots Day will be diluted.

It will become a pleasure day, a barbecue day, a day where some of us might even go to the beach 

Yes, all of these things are what the perpetrators wanted to obliterate with their actions, but what would make this day different and unique from other holidays like July 4 and Labor Day?

I feel that in particular, schools should be open and in session on September 11.

Kids are now going to school who weren't alive when this act was perpetrated, and not just little kids, but high school and college students ... they weren't around on Septemberv 11, 2011.

Our oldest students in undergraduate colleges and universities will turn 22 years of age this year, so they were born in 2002--after that horrid day.

I think a lot of our students look at what happened during that fateful day as ancient history, as they weren't born yet when it all happened.

They need not to have a day off from school, but a day in school, with instructors teaching them that this day wasn't ancient history, wasn't so much in the rear view mirror, as they might think, and is relevant in their own lives, and all of our lives, today.

Students having the day off won't ever fully understand what happened that day, and why the day is so sacred and important, so having a day off will only dilute the meaning of that day for our student population.

It might take years for the day to become a national holiday, and thus, students will be even further removed from the actions of that day if and when that happens.

The Tik Tok generation--and future and succeeding generations--need to fully understand what happened on September 11, 2001, fully grasp what was at stake, and fully see how our country was able to rebound from this horrible tragedy--

In fact, we all do ...

So giving us a day off only gives us a day off from understanding the gravity of September 11, 2001, and I don't think that that would be beneficial to any of us.