L ET US give thanks. The words may have seemed hollow to many Americans gathering around the table for Thanksgiving last week. Thanks - for thousands of people killed in the worst attack the nation has ever seen? Thanks - for our sense of security shaken, for being made to fear something as basic as the daily mail? Thanks - for being thrust into a war no one really knows how to fight, against an enemy no one knows how to find? Thanks - for the most harrowing few months many of us have ever had to live through?
Thanks - for what, exactly?
Here's a list.
Thanks - for reminding us all of how lucky we are to be here. It's easy to take for granted things like lack of censorship, the availability of education, equality for women, religious toleration, even adequate food supplies. The war has brought us news of people who struggle day to day without those things. It'll be a long time before we need another reminder of how fortunate we are.
Thanks - for all the lives that could have been lost that day but weren't. The most recent numbers of the missing and dead at the World Trade Center had the most accurate count at 3,899 ("Missing, dead at WTC drops below 3,900," Associated Press, Nov. 21). That's down from a peak estimate of 6,789 that was made two weeks after the attacks. Given the number of people working in the World Trade Center, as well as the rescue workers that were working the site that day, it is truly amazing that so many people got out safely. Immediately after the attacks, no one wanted to guess how many had been lost, but when they did, the estimates mounted in the tens of thousands. We have the rescue workers to thank for all the people who were saved. The firemen and policemen of New York City put their lives on the line - and, often, lost them - simply because it is their job. Their courage is almost superhuman.
Thanks - to all the people who backed up their shows of patriotism with acts, who literally put their money where their mouth was. In many cases, people were moved to offer not only money, but also their own blood to help the victims of the attacks. Lines in blood banks stretched around city blocks; people patiently waited for hours to donate. Millions of dollars have been raised for the victims' families.
Thanks - to the people who have kept America informed. On the whole, the media has risen to the challenge of bringing accurate and responsibly reported information to the public about the attacks and the ensuing war on terrorism. In the last few months, Peter Jennings, Dan Rather and the constant hum of CNN have become familiar presences, almost like old friends comforting us, quelling our panic and carrying us through times of trouble. The days of endless blather about Monica and Chandra and P. Diddy's latest escapade seem as if they were far in the past. May they stay there.
Most of all, we who live in this country should be thankful for what, in a strange way, has been an awakening. The nation's ordeal snapped us out of a kind of collective daze - did we really care about Survivor and Gary Condit just four months ago? - and has prompted us to consider, learn, think and care about things that actually are worth learning and thinking and caring about.
That's not to say that we were completely vapid then and have become perfectly noble and virtuous human beings after having gone through this. It would be overstating the case to say that we are completely changed, and it's too early to say whether the change that has occurred will endure. But there is something to be said for the fact that, as a nation, Americans seem to have grown a little kinder to each other, a little more generous, a little more knowledgeable about what's going on. People hug their family members harder; many have reevaluated their lives to put their loved ones higher on the priority list. Young people, especially, are more involved, whether they're protesting the war in Afghanistan or considering careers in government service.
It's said that adversity builds character. It's not hard to believe that we've all grown a bit better from having gone through this, and from having gone through it together. Let us be thankful for that.
(Laura Sahramaa is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached at lsahramaa@cavalierdaily.com.)
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