Keychain emotions

In the selling of 9/11, a Salon.com writer laments the commercialization of September 11--the commemorative plates, medallions, sweatshirts, caps, crystal replicas of the WTC towers, etc. I must admit that I find all the trinkets and trash pretty distasteful myself. (The manufacturers of this stuff claim they donate some percentage of the proceeds to charity, but you have to wonder if anyone's actually monitoring that.)

There's something about us Americans--probably our extreme materialism--that makes (some of) us want to crystalize our emotions in the form of merchandise. It's crass, trite, childish and rather sad--as if we had no other means of communicating what we feel. What will be even sadder, though, will be seeing all of this stuff in flea markets and yard sales a few years from now. So much for "remembrance."