Erica, I'm not bitter. I'm unsettled at how we as a society have responded to this. And it's not directed at the event itself or the people affected by it. My frustration and concern is directed at those who exploit it for personal/political gain. It might have been a unique occurrence, but it wasn't uniquely horrendous. As many commentators have pointed out, more people died that day of Typhus. It worries me that this seems to have become the defining moment of American history. We have kept giving in to fear in big and small ways ever since, and a culture based in fear will tear itself apart. And it's true that many British were surviving the second world war of their lifetimes, but doesn't that make their example more compelling? One major terrorist attack and we sell ourselves out for a promise of safety. Their lives defined by chaos, death, and deprivation for decades, and they refuse to give up being a free people. And Barry, maybe not, but we're eight years out, far longer than the blitz lasted, now and we're still jumping at shadows.
