Quote of the Day

"Grief has always been our most well-policed emotion. Mourning is painful, so we make it the stuff of pageantry --of muffled drums and riderless horses and black-draped catafalques. To suffer collectively is, if nothing else, to suffer prettily...

...Some have suggested that we discontinue the moments of silence and solemn speeches and all the other ceremonies that have marked our recent Sept. 11s. While many argue that that would leave the day bereft of meaning, it's possible that there are deeper kinds of meaning to be had."
--Time magazine's Jeffrey Kluger, on the awkwardness of a sixth anniversary.