What's 9/11?

Readers,
       This month, on Saturday, September 11th, another had passed since the day that New York City was attacked by Muslim extremists. Surely an unforgettable day and experience. But, I happened to be with my friends when the day and the event was brought up, and one of them said "9/11? Is that today?" Because we were not in school I could excuse him for not remembering the numerical date, but how could the significance of the day escaped him? Is it so far long ago that it no longer garners attention from those who had not lost people to the tragedy? I say this because it wasn't just my friend. The Chicago tribune had little to no mention of the event, which came as a huge surprise to me. This made me think: Are we trying to forget this experience? I could certainly see the appeal. The event and the situations that followed are tragic and filled with painful mistakes. It would certainly be easier to forget. My bigger question was this: would it matter if we did? Obviously we would lose a huge part of history. But the trade-off is an ease on international tension, a loss in ridiculous stereo-types, and the forgetting of a painful memory in the minds of Americans. So I open my question to you, would it matter if we forgot?