As April 15 approaches , the fact that we tell time in circles brings us to remember the attack on the Boston Marathon one year ago . But what exactly is there to remember ? Beyond the facts , what 's worth keeping so close that it becomes a part of ourselves ? That matters . Every memory changes us , so what we choose to remember depends on -- and reveals -- what sort of people we want to be . Of course , the memories of the three people who were killed that day certainly will stay forever in the hearts of those who knew and loved them . The pain of the survivors will not be forgotten quickly . But for those of us who do not know any of the victims , what does it mean to remember their pain and the suffering of their loved ones ? That terrible things happen ? That sometimes those terrible things are caused on purpose ? We 'll be reminded of those facts by the heightened security at the 2014 Boston Marathon . It would be foolish to forget that the marathon is an inviting target . Why hundreds will race for Boston . But focusing solely on the pain and loss of the victims does n't lead us any further . In fact , if taken to an extreme , it can cause us to forget some of our rights and freedoms , just as the memory of 9/11 's horrors led us to cede freedoms of movement and privacy to which we had been long accustomed . So we will learn lessons about security -- perhaps not all of them appropriate . More positively , what should we be remembering and thus letting change us ? For me , one thing to remember is that not a single person who made it to the local medical facilities died . Not one . In part it was because of the calm determination of those who took care of the injured at the site , moving them to medical facilities where professionals cared for them immediately and through long rehabilitations . It 's well worth remembering that in the midst of chaos and danger , the needs of others can drive off our fear . But from this I also remember the importance of having a medical infrastructure in place , with people and equipment ready to help . The power of training , dedication and an investment in facilities is worth remembering , and then acting on . I remember how wrong the mainstream media went in its early reportage , and how lost we could become on the Web . The mainstream media made flat-out errors , and a discussion at Reddit misidentified a killer , causing the falsely accused student 's family great pain . We should remember that there are consequences to idle speculation . That should make us more patient and more tentative in our judgments . Knowledge can be hurried but not rushed . Boston bombing survivor , a year later . Likewise , I remember being shocked that the younger of the brothers accused in the attack was described so warmly by his school friends as an accepting and empathetic person . From these descriptions , we could learn that no one is to be trusted . I take a different lesson , although one not nearly as neat and clean : People are infinitely complex and never entirely knowable . I remember the day Boston stayed inside as the killers were hunted . We did this not out of fear -- the chance that they would come down your street with guns blazing was minuscule -- but because it was all we could do to help bring to justice the murderers who attacked our city at a moment of civic celebration . Boston was strong because Bostonians acted in solidarity . That strength is well worth remembering . And then there is the memory of the murderers themselves . But I see no reason to remember their names .
David Weinberger : What is worth remembering a year after the Boston Marathon attack ? He says the victims , of course , but also professionals who saved those taken to hospitals . Investment in medicine made care possible , and Bostonians helped each other , he says . NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR.