9/11: 20 Years Later

Twenty years ago today, September 11, 2001, was a day that will live in infamy.  Every year on this day known as 9/11, we pause to remember the events of that day.  For those of us who are old enough to remember it, it’s still a memorable day today.  Although after 20 years, there’s now a growing segment of our population that isn’t even old enough to remember it.  To me, it seems impossible that it’s already been 20 years. Although I had no direct connection to any of these events myself, other than watching it unfold along with everyone else, I wanted to take this time to share my own personal memories of 9/11.

Religion, Politics, and the Great Pumpkin

In the Peanuts Halloween special, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Linus Van Pelt comes to the following conclusion: “I’ve learned there are three things never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.”  However, with this being shortly after Halloween and with our current election going on right now, I’m going to completely ignore Linus’s advice and share some of my own thoughts here.

Don’t worry, I’m going to stay away from all the political controversy that gets everyone wound up.  My intent is for this blog to be a drama-free zone, which is part of the reason it’s better than Facebook.  If you need more context as to why this blog is better than Facebook, the full top ten list can be found on a previous blog post here.  Election Day is the perfect time to especially note #4 on the list – no political drama.  With that said, here are some thoughts I’d like to share on our current season, starting with Halloween.

My Thoughts on This Week

I was working on another blog post on this site but current events have shifted my focus to another topic which I will address here. The majority of my posts are more likely to be frivolous in the grand scheme of things — sports, TV shows, math nerdery, etc. However, occasionally I may feel compelled to post some serious thoughts on certain topics. After all, I have a blog now, and the current events of this week have led me to post my thoughts here.

2020 has certainly been quite the year in the news. This week, we have seen a black man senselessly die at the hands of a white police officer in Minnesota. This has led to nationwide unrest, increased racial tension, protests, and rioting in several cities, including here in my city of Indianapolis. Back in Minnesota, we have seen the officer responsible for this man’s death arrested and charged with murder, although we have also seen a CNN reporter arrested on live national TV while reporting the news. Bizarre times indeed. With everything taking place and with all the unrest, it is more abundantly clear that this world is broken.