Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot?
Entry posted by Zox Tomana
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We Shall Never Forget.
Annuit Coeptis. Novus Ordo Seclorum. E Plurbis Unum.
He Has Favored Our Undertakings. A New Order of the Ages. Out of Many, One.
This weekend, the new members of my choir will begin a process known as "Key" which will act to bring them together as a group, induct them fully into their first year, and educate them in the history of the Singing Cadets and of Texas A&M. During this time, they as a first-year class will learn Auld Lang Syne, a song precious to our group. Sung at the end of tours, Spring Banquet, any time someone must leave the group, and at the Muster Ceremony, Auld Lang Syne represents the tradition of brotherhood we hold so dear. The first-years are also asked to answer what they think the song is about, and what they think is the reason we sing it almost as a prayer.
My own answer was that we sang it to pose a question, simultaneously answering it with a resounding, "No!" It is for auld lang syne, for "days gone by" as it may be loosely translated, that we come together and take the cup of kindness. The song poses a question, and we answer that those old days should not be forgotten, and neither should the people of our past. We come together to drink the cup in their memory, and more than that, we come together because of them. Those days and those people are what made it possible for us to do so.
And today we face the same question. 13 years ago there was a horrific attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. As time has gone by, should we forget the events of that day? The lives that were lost, changed, perhaps even begun anew on that day? No! This day we gather to remember them, and more. We honor the men and women who have gone before us, who have sacrificed their time, their bodies, and even their lives for those of us who remain behind. We remember the victims and survivors and the families hit by 9/11, and we remember the victims, survivors, and families from tragedies around the world. So much has happened since then and we must move on, staying in step with the passage of time, but that does not mean we have to forget.
It is not merely the 2977 casualties and their families, but also the 19 aggressors, and those who survived them. The time has been long past that we forgive them, it is part of moving ahead. In a moment when I ask to you to dwell for a moment, either in silence or in prayer, remember them too, and do so with mercy and love for them as fellows in humanity. Every death that day, in the days before, and in the days since, has left a hole in the fabric of humanity: an irreplaceable life, a mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin... never again to be hugged, kissed, spoken to, laugh at or with. Today is an important day, let us not sully it with anger or resentfulness. Instead, let us take this Patriot Day to turn our eyes inward and nurse the wounds in our hearts, and remember both those who suffer throughout the world, and those who have given their lives for them. This day belongs to many people; let us pay our respects to the dead of the world.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?
No. Let us remember our brother and sisters, and the days of auld lang syne.
Amen,
Zox
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