Welcome to Citizen. Today is April 22nd.

And we're going to remember some things together.

Some stuff I think we've lost,

but that there are examples of

both in history and modernity

and things that we must pay attention to if we are going to survive

as a civilization there are certain names that survive the news cycle ones that live in our memories

forever most names flare up get folded into an, and then disappear into the churn of the 24-hour news cycle.

They become hashtags or symbols or shorthand.

They get used, misused, captured, and finally forgotten.

But every now and then a name remains, not because the media keeps it alive, not

because institutions preserve it with a particular care, and not even because the story itself is

simple. Sometimes the story remains because it touches every nerve in your body and too deep to die.

Sometimes it remains because it reveals something we are still trying not to admit.

And Pat Tillman is one of those names.

On April 22nd, 2004 in Afghanistan, Pat Tillman died wearing the uniform as an army ranger.

Before that, he had been a successful NFL player with the Arizona Cardinals.

He had money, status, recognition, a public future, and the kind of upward trajectory

modern people are trained to regard as sacred.

And then 9-11 happened. And he decided to walk

away from professional football and enlist in the United States Army. He didn't stumble into

service. He did not drift into it because life had denied him alternatives. He stepped into it

...