Tragedy marks the spot

While there were certainly points of the "Ground Zero is Sacred Space, But Not Just Because of 9/11"  blog that I found obnoxious, namely crudely disguised bashing of "a certain president,"  (okay, understandable, but be an adult and use names and facts, please.)   I enjoyed the attention to history in a place that has been nothing but the sight of terror for the past decade.   What I find most poignant, however, is an insight not pointed out in the blog, but which struck me in its reading:  Tragedy pinpoints a time and a place like nothing else can.   There is so much beautiful, rich history beneath where we are sitting, where we drive every day to work, where we like to take walks on crisp fall days.  Yet most events become nearly obsolete when tragedy strikes.  It would be interesting to investigate earlier history from sites of monumental events to see what happened before.  And of course it is important to never forget the values that shaped a place or a nation before and after pain.  But tragedy stains a place.  You can cover it up or scrape it away, but you won't forget it.   It is that stain, like blood or wine or paint, that stands out in the mind, in history, and in time.  A space may be sacred for more reason than one, but in the case of Ground Zero, one stands out above the rest and colors it with its afterglow.  And that is 9/11.