Should 9-11 Be A National Holiday? – #TQOTD

Today is the 17th anniversary of the September 11th attacks and we wanted to use our #TQOTD to get a little insight about the anniversary.  Currently, September 11th is a day of remembrance, but we wanted to know if it should be more.  What do you think?

TEXT QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Should 9-11 Be A National Holiday?

• No fed. Holiday, a designated day of remembrance or something like that, fine. On a side note, Some people have birthdays and wedding anniversaries today, it's OK to celebrate your special day. Don't let anyone guilt you out of celebrating. "NINE-ELEVEN" Isn't just about the terrorist attacks.
• I think 9/11 should be a 'holiday' idk if that is the right word for it. But I think we should have the day off of work and take this day to remember what happened. If you were alive and remember how it was after it happened and how people were innocently attacked. Remember how scared everyone was. Remembe r the people that went to work like a normal day and there whole lives changed forever.
  I think we should close down once a year to remember. Not get dru nk and treat it like the 4th and other holidays.
• Definitely not a holiday. We should not be celebrating a holiday where terrorists took so many lives. We can grieve over the lives that were taken without making it a national holiday.
• Absolutely yes! It should be a federal holiday. I watched the first plane hit. When it happened I didn't fully understand what was happening until late. However, i worked at a restaurant at the time and everyone that came in had the same look on their face and asked to be seated near a tv. I eventually asked the manager to turn the music off and tvs up. That day affected every single person in the USA. Even those born after. My kids know all about 9/11. My niece was born on the 1 year anniversary. One day I hope to go to New York to visit Ground Zero. I also have an old school friend that was there when it happened. My heart hurts everyone I see anything about that day. I love being an American!!!
• I don't think it should be a national holiday, for holidays are typically celebrated. However, I think it should be labeled as a day of remembrance. To honor and remember the heroes, the brave and the innocents that were lost. #bring informing kids on history back into schools!
• December 7th is a Federal holiday then yes if December 7th is not then no. Because like fish said this is our December 7th for Our Generation.
• To your question, if the day: I don't think schools should not skip that day. I think schools should educate all students on this day every year all day, so yes make it a holiday but don't have schools skip school. I'm 24 I was in school when my teacher started to cry and turned in the news and it makes me very sad to hear that some schools don't even talk about it.
• #TQOTD I think it should be a federal holiday. So should pearl harbor day.
• Definitely, I think it's a major historical event so I feel like why not make it a federal holiday
• Yes September 11th should be a federal holiday as it should be observed just as Memorial Day is.
• Today should not be a national holiday!
• Absolutely not! Holidays turn into celebrations regardless of what they were intended for (Memorial Day) 911 should never be turned into a bbq day for those that weren't alive or were too small to remember what that day did and meant for America. Instead, we should continue to do what we've done - go to work, reflecting on what happened
• #TQOTD I'd say no. Eventually a 9/11 holiday would be trivialized by commercialism. Plus the only people who are guaranteed a Federal Holiday is those who work for the Federal Government. Leave it as a day of remembrance.
• Should not be a holiday because 9/11 is nothing to celebrate. All other holidays celebrate an event, a terrorist attack is nothing to be proud of.
• If today becomes a national holiday then every time any one of our men and woman fighting for our freedom die that day should be a national holiday. Do we really need all of these to be national holidays? You could compare this question to why do children always have to win and not be taught to be losers?
• No 911 should not be a federal holiday hopefully it doesn't happen again in our lifetime but in the future, it will one day and you can't make every tragedy a holiday. Plus government workers will just get another day off while the rest of us have to go to work with no banking and no mail service!
• No. It diminishes all others who have died by evil hands.
• I don't think 911 should be a holiday because it's not the only terrorist attack that has happened and sadly it won't be the last. I do think America does a great job remembering 911
• No. I respect the day but no I do not think it should be a federal holiday
• I think it should be but I also think they should make December 7th for the Pearl Harbor attack a Federal holiday as well that was a big one. Just Shhmoo it
• I don't think 9/11 should be a federal holiday. 12/7 isn't a federal holiday (Pearl Harbor).
• I think it should. For many kids who remember that was the day our childhood ended. I was 10 years old that day and never had heard the word terrorist. It was the day I realized that the world is not this perfect place and there is a lot of hate. For those lives, we lost and the lives changed and impacted absolutely yes. For those who sacrificed their lives that day and after in the war that followed
• Sept 11 is a holiday for my husband and I 😀 19 years married today ❤❤❤❤❤❤😚
• I feel like it should not become a federal holiday because then it will just be commercialized and the meaning will be lost like we will start having art van September 11 sales and stuff
• No, I don't think that 9/11 should be a holiday however if we should end the war in the Middle East then possibly later. But currently, with my 5 kids serving in the military, it should not be. We should never forget nor should we politicize it either.
• As much as I would love to have a day to take off and remember those that tragically died in 9/11 in 75 to 80 years 9/11 is going to be up to the next generation like pearl harbor is to our generation where we look at it as a sad event in history but it didn't have much of an impact on our own lives
• Absolutely not. Today is a day we remember the horrific events that took place and it is an event our country learned from. The best way to honor all the lives lost is to run a business as usual and be vigilant, just as they were that day.
• Do they recognize peral harbor as a national holiday? Sadly I think over time it's forgotten
• We did not make Dec 7th a federal holiday when Pearl Harbor was bombed. We did not even make it a holiday. We made 9/11 Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. I can see why they would not make 9/11 a federal Holiday.
• I believe it should be a holiday. It is part of history now and those brave people deserve to be remembered.
• Do federal workers really need another holiday? 9/11 didn't just affect workers it affected the whole country. If there's any holiday it should be for the first responders and people in the medical profession who actually responded to that tragedy, not the federal workers who sit on their butts the entire time. Federal workers already have about 10 holidays a year.
• No should be a recognized holiday. The government gets enough paid days off.
  I Good morning beautiful Connie and Sir Fish. I just spent the drive to school talking to my 7 & 9-year-old about 9/11. It should be a federal holiday not to celebrate the evil of terrorism but to celebrate the response of American heroes and our nation's choice to be stronger and more united. It's a great opportunity to teach kids that when hard, confusing things happen in our lives (because they will!) we can choose to be broken or we can choose to rebuild stronger than before. Evil exists in this world and that's never going to change. But there is always hope in tragedy and good does prevail in the end. Cheers to 'Merica.
• It abso-fricking-lutely should be a holiday. It shaped the USA we are today and maybe we should remember when the country actually came together
• Hey Connie and Fish..... I would love to call in, but 9/11 was a sad day for me cause my brother was supposed to be in the first tower that got hit. We didn't hear from him for 3 days, so we thought that he was killed...Luckily enough he is still alive...I believe that 9/11 should be a Federal holiday, cause we lost a lot of innocent people that day
• #tqotd No. It would become a second Labor Day/vacation day. It's an even more powerful reminder to go about normal life like the day it happened.
• My name is Alan and I am a Marine Corps veteran. 911 should not be a federal or national holiday any more than April 19 or December 7. April 19, 1775 is the day the British attacked and we fought at Concorde and Lexington. We lost about the same number of Americans on December 7, 1941 as we did on 911 2001. We do need to discuss it, it should be a day of remembrance, and we should never forget. But here in America we do not turn every major event into a paid day off from work.
• I think that if it were to become a federal holiday the true meaning would be forgotten just like Memorial Day and Labor Day. Those days weren't meant to be just party days (like they've become)
• The Kindergarten teacher Nailed it!!! Not a National Holiday! Day of Remembrance YES!!!!
• Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day isn't a federal holiday
• I'm a Veteran who served during 911. It should not be a federal holiday. It definitely should be a day of remembrance. Reason being holidays are meant to celebrate. The one holiday that is meant for the memorial has already been forgotten what Memorial Day true meaning behind. It doesn't deserve the disrespect of grills, beaches, and fun in the sun. A national day of remembrance will give it the proper respect it deserves.
• I visited New York June 2002 and saw the hole that was punched in our world. The steel gurter cross with the flag was still up. It was the most incredibly difficult time and nobody was talking. It moved me in a way that I didn't think was possible. Yes 911 should be a national holiday. And maybe the government should have the day off. The Pentagon was attacked that day. Imagine how much worse it could have been
• While listening to your broadcast, I wondered when they would start, or if they would start, teaching kids about 9/11 in school. My daughter just started 4th grade this year and turned 10 in August. She asked me what it was since we were listening to your show. So I started to tell her where exactly I was, what I saw, what happened, and everything. I could not tell the story without getting all choked up and tears coming down my face. I remember watching both planes hit, my mouth dropping open, and everything else that happened, and the feeling of helplessness that ensued. So my daughter got a very emotional version of what happened. Can teachers do a better job? I know that are taught to teach sensitive subjects, but can they talI hope so. EVERY kid, 4th grade and up, should know what this day is.
• I graduated from Army basic and advanced training a month before 911. 17 years later I am still serving in the military and I'm active duty here in Grand Rapids on my way to work. today we will talk and remember not only the people that we lost that day but all of our friends and comrades that we lost through the war that came after and we don't need a day off for that as so many seem to think that is what a holiday is for... we may all leave work early and go Have a few drinks and remembrance through which none of our bosses would give two shits about
• Tqotd: Today should be a holiday. Just like Memorial Day. I grew up in NYC. Many friends and family were lost. Millions didn't die. But, millions were affected. It is atrocious that many people don't even know what happened to our country this day.
• My daughter (11-years-old) heard the question. She asked what I thought...I asked what she thought at first. She thought that "it shouldn't be a holiday that is celebrated like 4th of July, but a holiday that is remembered and honored...not partied on. I think we should have at least an hour in class today to talk about it bc it's social studies."
• I told her I think the same, but that every teacher should talk about it. We are at a unique moment in history, where the school kids were not alive for 9-11, but all of our teachers were!! They remember it, and actually lived it!!! Teach the kids why we have the rules we have like lockdown drills. I have taken my kids to ground zero, and make sure I educate them every year on the anniversary
• Making 9/11 a holiday would not be celebrating terror, it would be a celebration of the resilience and the ability to overcome by Americans! Which is integral to the foundation of our country!
• Hi! I'm a child therapist and wanted to weigh in on talking about 9/11 in schools. I absolutely think it should be talked about. What teachers present to students can easily be adapted to young children. The focus can be on the first responders and all the people that came together to help the hurting.
• Hard to weigh in. I don't think a day of being terrorized should be celebrated. However, I also feel turning a negative to a positive is a good idea. And shows oppressors they can't break our spirits
• TQOTD...9/11 should be a holiday. I was married four days after it happened and the way life went on afterward, we came together, we prayed for each other, we helped each other. For one moment we weren't anything but American. I think that day should be memorialized because it stands as a testament that the American people are undaunted, unflapped, unmoved, and unwilling to let terrorists beat us. Is there any better reason for a holiday?
• I do believe it should be a Federal holiday or Remembrance Day but good point made so should Pearl Harbor because we don't celebrate that day either and both were very eye opening to America when they occurred
• No!! I have zero faith that it would not turn into a party holiday and retailers turning it into a sale day!! Sad, but true! Think about Memorial Day!
• It wouldn't matter if it was a federal holiday. Memorial day is a federal holiday and it still mistreated
• I remember the morning of 9-11 because I was working at Ottawa County 911..it was so scary because it was like the whole world stopped..no one called 911 for emergencies...at the same time I don't want it to be a federal holiday that eventually falls to the wayside because people start to think of it as just another free day off and sadly that is how a lot of people think of holidays..Thanks
• It should not be a federal holiday. We don't have holidays for Pearl Harbor, any of the wars, the pulse shooting, columbine, etc. All of these were equally devastating and by having a holiday for one and not the others is like saying those lives were worth more.
• I wouldn't call it a holiday just another memorial type day, on the other hand, pearl harbor never had a "holiday"
• We remember Pearl Harbor not a Holiday as 911 should only be remembered !
• It should be a national day of remembrance
• It should not be a holiday. December 7 is not a holiday and that was a tragic day as well.
• Leave certain things to parents?? Then why would schools teach sex ed?? At this point, 9-11 is a history lesson! Teach! And as far as making it a holiday - it's like president's day. What would we call this holiday though? 9-11 isn't much of name for the holiday
• September 11th is still such a big deal, that when I was pregnant with my son, and they were going to induce me on a Saturday because they don't do inductions on the weekend. I had to petition the head OB of the weekend shift to let me switch my induction so that my son wouldn't be born on September 11th. He was more than willing to change my delivery date, even though they don't do that kind of thing very often. So my son's birthday is September 12th. He turns 9 tomorrow.
• Fish brought up a good point... I don't want to downplay the significance of what happened that tragic day 17 years ago, however many different generations of Americans have experienced "tragic" events that have become a part of our history, such as the event at Pearl Harbor, Desert Storm, D-day, etc. None of those are Federal Holidays, but equally significant.
• This may have already been brought up but someone mentioned shutting down and taking the day to be with your loved ones. Hospitals never shut down. Emergency surgeries go on whether it's a holiday or not, patients continue to be admitted to hospitals and that means food service staff, housekeeping staff and all the clinical services have to be staffed 24/7 no matter what. So maybe some see it as a day to shut down and reflect with the people you love but many people miss out on those kind of things because there are businesses that just cannot take a day off.
• It should be a day to remember those who were effected && how we are still effected to this day.!
• We can't manipulate history for our children because it isn't sweet && "Disney approved"! We need to teach true history!!!!!!!!!!!
• July 4 is a holiday to celebrate our independence how many people died for that??? We don't need the day off but most certainly I think a national moment of silence
• #textquestion I don't believe 9-11 should be a national "holiday". The attack on Pearl Harbor isn't a national "holiday". If we make one a national "holiday", we should make them all one. We should always pause and reflect on these attacks.
• Tqotd. I feel like 9-11 should be a Federal holiday just the same as Martin Luther King Day or any other day of remembrance that we closed down for. So many people gave their lives, I feel like it should be honored
• I think that 9/11 should be a federal holiday because of how many people that died, and all the men and women that have died since then in the war in the Mid East and Afghanistan.
• I don't think there's anything wrong with making 9/11 a Federal holiday. No different than Memorial Day. But aren't we already observing it then? Also, would it opened Pandora's Box and we'd have to observe Pearl Harbor Day, Etc?