Cheerleaders are the manifestation of zest and pep here on earth – they personify cheer. Their rallies and performances are designed to get people pumped up and excited about a basketball game or football match. But not at this school. These cheerleaders annually perform routine in honor of the victims of 9/11 and it is getting darker and darker every year.
To commemorate the anniversary of 9/11 this year, they put set their cheer to the words of Ex-President George W post catastrophe. The result is… something else. I guess I’ve never seen cheerleaders make people cry before. It’s like iff Pooh Bear were to grab your arm and tear it off, when you thought he was going to hand you the honey. Maybe that’s a poor analogy…
Some see this as a beautiful annual ceremony and an incredible tribute. Other’s are confused. Some even find it gross and insensitive. As the video continues to make its rounds through the Internet, more and more opinions will surface. I recommend you form your own: here’s the video. The juxtaposition of cheerleaders and the greatest tragedy of American History is a confusing one.
However you choose to thinkof it, the performance presets a conversation. Of course, there was untold suffering and mourning in that attack. But it is important not to let the darkness of that savage day suffuse our lives forever – better to live and learn, I suppose. Indeed, the day after 9/11 brought just as much community and solidarity as it did silence and mourning. What do you think?