people say that just because i’m not american i cannot comprehend the horrible nature of the hijacked planes and the more infamous world trade centre (oops, “center”) bombing. well, you know what? you’re absolutely right. i’m not american. i’m proud to live in a country that does not bring about, however inadvertently, such atrocious attacks on me or my fellow citizens because of a flawed government and pathetic international relations. i understand that the canadian parliamentary system is still pretty much a joke, but i feel no urgency to change it when we don’t have osama bin laden trying to shit on us.

but how can anyone forsee something like that? how can you predict your airplane to be taken over by violent terrorists or a plane crashing into your workplace and subsequently taking down the entire building? there is nothing telling you that these things are possible in the matrix of the human mind. and for that reason i cannot say america deserved anything that took place on september 11, 2001.

at times, i attempt to empathize with the average american regarding this event. i’d like to put myself in his or her shoes, but i can’t — not completely. it’s strange to me how a country with a less than 50% voter turn-out at presidential elections and the like can quickly catch up on their country’s past with the middle east and afghanistan in what is now just one day shy of a year and feel they have just cause to hate and smite and kill on this “war against terrorism.” when do international problems matter to you? when they threaten your well-being? probably so. apathy and indifference have become our generation’s mantra. it’s so easy to say, “how sad!” and maybe even shed a tear at the memory of the event. but it’s even harder to look to yourself as part of the resolution.

so tomorrow, when i will undoubtedly catch many a memorial service on television regarding the 9-11 attacks and their incredulous manner, i will not mourn for americans on a political scale. instead, i will mourn for those average people whose average lives were undeservingly taken for a cause of which less than 50% of them had a clue. of all, these are the people that don’t deserve to die. they shouldn’t be punished for their apathy. they shouldn’t be punished for living their everyday lives. american or not, they were people to whom you and i could easily relate. people who probably hadn’t heard of the word “taliban” unless they watched CNN religiously and who, on that fateful day, were busy with thoughts about their pasta lunch or the report that was due yesterday or a cute blonde whom they saw on the metro that morning.

i mourn for someone who died, someone whom i most likely wouldn’t be able to distinguish from myself. i mourn for a community on the verge of self-destruction over hate and revenge. and, mostly, i pray for a return to innocence.