Apparently, I must make an apology for my last post. I lack the technical expertise to delete my last post or delete it, so I must own up to it. I cannot pretend it did not happen. I made fun of the idea of Patriots Day in my last post, unaware that Patriots Day is now the official title that September 11 now has. No, no one pointed this out to me. I learned this through reading as we approached the 25th anniversary of that terrible day. May as well own up to my faux paus.

And let me state my opinion: Patriot Day is a fucking terrible name for September 11. Patriot Day is exactly the kind of name you make fun of, which is why I made fun of it. It’s the kind of name you give to a holiday where you’re trying to sell people shit you couldn’t sell on July 4th or Memorial Day and you don’t expect to sell on Veterans Day. It’s not the kind of holiday that you expect to mean something, which September 11th should be, if you plan to make it a holiday. Thousands of innocent people died that day. You can cut all the subsequent discussion of U.S. foreign policy, which those people had no role in deciding, either prior to that event and obviously no role going forward. Thousands of innocent people died. That carries a certain weight, and the term “Patriot Day” doesn’t hold that weight. That’s the Barney the Dinosaur version of history.

What should it be called? I don’t know. Maybe 9/11? I’m a millennial. This was the Kennedy Assassination for my generation. We all used 9/11, and we all knew what we were talking about when we said that. That should be sufficient. That phrase carries sufficient moral weight. Patriot Day sounds like something that was declared by the federal government, which it probably was. I haven’t bothered to look it up. That tells you something.

Patriotism means loving your country more than you love yourself. A lot of people have claimed the title since 9/11, but few have earned it. That’s a high bar. There are a lot more nationalists. Nationalism means loving your country more than some other country, which is a low bar.

So, this 9/11, which is what I am calling it, don’t call yourself a patriot. Try your best to earn the title. Let other people call you that. Don’t celebrate Patriot Day. Have a solemn 9/11.