Americans Mark 9/11 Anniversary in Different Ways
- Religion Today
- Updated Sep 11, 2012
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According to a Pew Research Center survey taken in August 2011, almost every American adult remembers what he or she was doing when news of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks spread, and three-quarters say they were affected a great deal emotionally. Eleven years later, how people are living out the anniversary varies greatly, USA Today reports. The American Pulse Survey found that half of Americans will observe today in an informal way, and 12 percent will do it in a formal manner. Families of the nearly 3,000 victims are attending memorial services at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pa., while other Americans are attending local tributes, watching the reading of the victims' names on TV or doing volunteer work, which has become linked to the anniversary. For others, however, the day will go on just like any other Tuesday: about 30 percent of Americans said they would not do anything different today, and 8 percent said they didn't have an opinion. The American Pulse Survey also found that nearly 70 percent of Americans said they somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement "I have moved on from [the events of] Sept. 11." Media attention to September 11 has already waned, says Marywood College sociology professor Brian Monahan, who has researched coverage of the attacks. "Last year, you couldn't avoid it," he said. "This year, you have to go out of your way to find it."