It is bizarre to think that there is no such thing as the present–we are always living in the past. Or the future. Each time someone mentions “now” they are referring to the point in time they said exactly point five seconds ago. The present is both in the past and the future. There is no such thing as the present. There is only the past and the future. The present is only a concept that is only present in our minds, which our mind presented to the whole world to understand the present concept of present. Following that syllogism, it is not odd to consider that most of us are living in past. “Memory” is defined as the act of recollecting something from the past; something remembered from the past. If this is the case, are we living in memories?
One could argue that 9/11 is just as significant the birth of the Lord, both marking a change how the world perceived itself. After the events of 9/11, the world was divided into two: pre-9/11, where the only culture of fear that existed was the culture of fear for getting not enough land; and post-9/11, a world where everything is full of fear: video game violence, “your next door neighbor might be a serial killer!”, overexposure of criminal activities and so-called tragedies in the media, and the ever so controversial rape culture. Granted, I have yet to taste and experience the world pre-9/11, but I’m sure from the portrayal of the carefree culture of the 90s and the crack culture of the 80s and the anarchist movement of the 70s and the psychedelic anti-war hippie movement of the 60s and the jazzy beatniks of the 50s that the only thing privileged Westerners had to worry about was losing their piece of land from the oppressive government and high taxes and the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution. Whether people deny it or accept it, 9/11 was a critical point in the history of people as walking archives of memory.
Post-9/11, especially the early days, were grim times for people all around the world. Flights delayed, people panicking in front of their TV sets, journalists racing to create a sympathetic (keyword: pathetic) article regarding the horrible event that unraveled within a couple miles of their offices, and confused government officials who couldn’t decide between taking advantage of this situation and reinvent themselves or hold a conservative stance on the matter and start pointing fingers. Americans became traumatized and crazy over this new revelation that they were vulnerable to almost anything, from sunburn to drive-by shooting, from crazy neighbors to psychological disorders. Quoting a brilliant article by UK newspaper The Independent,
“In these 10 years America has lost much, […] Most of all, perhaps, it has lost its illusions. One, that its home territory was invulnerable, beyond the reach of hostile foreigners, vanished on that terrible Tuesday morning.”
(I recommend reading the full article, it’s a really good article about 9/11 and its aftermath!)
Since 9/11, America also lost the illusion that it would be the place of infinite opportunities and a guarantee in the seat of wealthiness. Psychologist Robert D. Stolorow suggests how “traumatized people [of the 9/11 events] fall prey to ‘resurrective ideologies’ that promise to restore the sheltering illusions that have been lost.” I believe that everyone is gullible when they are overcome with fear and is in a state of vulnerability. People would give up their basic needs if it meant freedom from fear and liberty from all no-good institutions. People will give up anything, even it means blaming video games for anti-social and violent behaviors instead of introspecting their selves because it’s always someone else’s fault, according to the government.
You might be asking yourself: “what the hell does all of this have to do with memory and how we are all living in our memories?” Obviously, we are not literally living in our own memories–that’s what dreams are for. We are living in the shadow of a memory that, as a collective, we created out of unbearable traumatic pain. The American Dream died, reborn under the oxymoronic promises of security and liberty. We are afraid, and we are very happy.