A state of Sept. 11 limbo

It was the day they canceled football.\nAt least that was comedian/commentator David Cross' opinion of Sept. 11, 2001. \nFor this staff -- and it becomes obvious when one examines the content of the paper this week -- it's just a little bit more.\nBut how much more?\nTo this query, it's difficult to answer in one swift blow. After all, how would one even begin to elaborate on how that day affected the country, Indiana, Bloomington or simply this University? It seems that even a classroom of some 30 people can't decide on exactly how we are "supposed" to feel today, let alone organize a list of events.\nShould we memorialize, protest or just carry on?\nAfter the first year, it seemed almost to go without saying. We seemed more comfortable then. It was more immediate. It felt "right" to pay tribute and take some time off. But this isn't the first year after. Perhaps it's more important. The sense of obligation to the day isn't as present as it was in 2002. A distance has been imposed and in some ways, many of us have found our closure.\nMany, but certainly not all.\nWith this in mind, Sept. 11 seems to have entered the sphere of political issues which simply cannot be separated from personal feelings: race, reproductive rights, anything one might find taboo to comment on with flip.\n"Be sensitive" is the new American mantra.\nThis doesn't mean, however, that one cannot show disdain for the event. For some, it sparks patriotism. For others, it engenders a skepticism with government affairs. Even still, it can foster both instincts at once.\nWe feel, however, that one cannot deny that it creates something.\nMany wish to help us with "how" we should feel this day, but it is this staff's opinion that above all things, we "should" feel. Period.\nTo deny the impact of this day on our cultural identity is to deny the fact that it even occurred. And while the bleeding hearts desire sculptures be raised, while the advocates for change demand political action to prevent the day from occurring again, while commentators demand we use the day to examine why other countries even attempted the attack in the first place and while the hopefuls desire we all just "get over it," there is no denying that we desire something. \nThat today matters.\nThat on Sept. 10, 2001, newspapers were searching for news on beach fronts. Foreign policy only affected diplomats and nameless soldiers abroad. Profiling was drawing a person's picture from the side. New York City was a place we'd seen in movies with big stores and rude cab drivers. \nOn Sept. 10, 2001, America was untouchable.\nOh, what a difference a day makes.