Happy Patriot Day! As soon as I typed it I realized that sounds as weird as Happy Pearl Harbor Day. A sibling got married on 12/7 so it is entirely within the realm of possibility that I have said "Happy Pearl Harbor Day." Up here in Emmer country (formerly known as Michelle Bachman country) we celebrate Patriot Day in a big way. Fire trucks extend their ladders over the Main Street bridge and suspend a giant American flag and a big banner that reads, "Never Forget." As I smile and wave at the firefighters or other people smiling down at me as my yellow car passes by I wonder what should I never forget. Historically people do forget. We do. We can't help but forget. If we were able to remember very much at all or if we could learn from our mistakes, I don't think war and the military would eat up such a large amount of our national budget. Anyway, I am a patriot of the U S of A. I don't really care if we say the pledge of allegiance in school but I am a patriot. I sing Yankee Doodle Dandy to my grandgirls. Canada is nice too. Also Italy. Italy is nice but I wouldn't want to live there more than six months. Kenya is also great. Ecuador is surprisingly advanced in terms of preserving ecology, recycling, and integrating persons with disabilities into the work field. Australia is pretty good too but they have some dangerous animals there. I like the fact that descendants of convicts sent from the UK to serve time and pay off their debt to society down under are considered to be genetically cool. Anyway, Happy Patriot Day to you. Here is what I want to never forget. I want to remember the heroes. Some many people gained hero status on that day without asking for it. They didn't help for the glory. Not all heroes wear capes. The heroes of 9/11 helped because they had a natural impulse, a human impulse, and a brave impulse. The heroes acted impulsively and, in one way or another, paid a price for acting impulsively. Acting impulsively and putting yourself in grave danger is not a good adaptive skill for the future of our species. Or is it?
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