Rieff says that “remembrance is humanly necessary”.  This aspect of human thinking makes personal loss almost unbearable. Rieff makes it seem that we need to forget the events of 9/11. So why is it that even when we want to forget we still take part in memorials like the tenth anniversary of 9/11 that Rieff mentions? I believe it’s because when you are deeply connected to a person, losing that person creates an empty emotional space in your mind, a hole in your heart.

Memorials, though they remind you of your loss, allow you to have the satisfaction that even though that person is not in your life anymore, you have not entirely forgotten them. And maybe forgetting them is worse that remembering them because forgetting them might mean that they did not really mean that much to you. Does entirely forgetting your loved one and the way they died suggest that they did not make an impact on you life?