The only way I could commemorate the magnitude of such a complicated event is to leave it alone.

I sat out today. No facebook, no twitter, no newspapers, no television. I just couldn't handle the sight of another Anheiser-Busch commercial with Clydesdales saluting the Manhattan skyline over the sounds of orchestral music, complete with the Statue of Liberty in the background and the Budweiser logo outro at the end.

Sure, we must remember the dead. I do. I remember the innocent and brave souls trapped inside those planes and burning towers. I remember the courageous jumpers that the American media refuses to talk about. I remember the selfless first responders who rushed into those buildings only to meet with the faces and sounds of death.

Ten years later, I can honestly say that (even) I underestimated the ability of American marketers to turn any event, no matter how horrific, into a marketing opportunity. It makes me sick to my stomach. I get the same feeling I got when Puffy went on tour with shiny suits to "commemorate" the death of The Notorious B.I.G (cause we can't stop, cause we won't stop). It's crass. It's rude. It's manipulated. The images and memories of 9/11 have been whored to death. The lives and families of those lost deserve respect, not false empathy. Instead of mourning the fallen, I am left with little more than despondency.

America died on September 11, 2001. We traded our rights and freedoms for color-coded false security based on xenophobia and misguided hate. We are mistrustful of our own citizens (see TSA Passenger Security Checkpoints). We've been conditioned to remain vigilant. We hate anyone who looks or thinks differently.

I get it. Fear sells. The sounds of soft pianos over the images of devastation and tearful Americans waving the stars and stripes in slow motion strikes an emotional chord. Attention = money. Money is what this is all about. 

As hard as I try to forget where I was when I heard "the news" (I never will), I try harder to remember where I was on September 10, 2001 - the day before the America I knew was interrupted forever.

I extend my sincerest love and condolences to anyone who lost a loved one on 9/11. I wish you peace in coping with your loss.