2008 Woodie Awards
Overcoming our Fears and United 93
Greg Collins
Issue date: 4/28/06 Section: Opinion
There have been many good-faith attempts to capture the psychological, emotional, and philosophical significance of that day through political writing, but doing so through art perhaps is the most effective way of encapsulating such a day of horror.
I have only see trailers for the film, but I get chills up my spine every time I see images of that movie, which in turn gets me thinking about the heroic acts our fellow Americans committed during that day.
To overcome tyranny and stand up in the face of evil, in this day and age of Muslim terrorists, we must first conquer our fear of tyranny and evil. One of the highest moral faculties of each human being is that of recognizing fear in oneself and overcoming it. This is what happened when passengers on United 93 recognized their impending doom yet still found the resolve to strike back at the terrorists.
The question has been raised whether this is an ideal time to release this movie to the general public. Issues of timing appropriateness in this case are left to the subjectivity of the individual, so it is hard to conclude when is a prudent time to release a movie depicting a historical event, if ever. The implication of the argument of timing calls into question how and when do we, as Americans and as individual beings, confront and come to grips with appalling historical events of the past. Living life while being afraid of the present and future can deny innumerable opportunities. But living life while being afraid of what happened in the past can do just the same. Failing to take risks, whether it is through artistic or political means, limits the opportunity to look back in history and acknowledge the implications and importance of life-changing events or epochs. If we are constantly worried about the appropriateness of reacting to various historical events, we will impede our progress of learning about its political and social implications. Perhaps most importantly, it will restrict us from learning what it teaches about eternal moral issues of good and evil.
At least for a short span, all Americans should stop squabbling over the politics of President Bush and the war on terrorism to view this film. Perhaps instead of worrying about the appropriateness of the timing or the profit-making intentions of the filmmakers, all Americans can unite in remembering when our fellow Americans stood up in the face of evil. Such remembrance is the very antithesis of shameless self-promotion.
Greg Collins is a Collegian columnist.
I have only see trailers for the film, but I get chills up my spine every time I see images of that movie, which in turn gets me thinking about the heroic acts our fellow Americans committed during that day.
To overcome tyranny and stand up in the face of evil, in this day and age of Muslim terrorists, we must first conquer our fear of tyranny and evil. One of the highest moral faculties of each human being is that of recognizing fear in oneself and overcoming it. This is what happened when passengers on United 93 recognized their impending doom yet still found the resolve to strike back at the terrorists.
The question has been raised whether this is an ideal time to release this movie to the general public. Issues of timing appropriateness in this case are left to the subjectivity of the individual, so it is hard to conclude when is a prudent time to release a movie depicting a historical event, if ever. The implication of the argument of timing calls into question how and when do we, as Americans and as individual beings, confront and come to grips with appalling historical events of the past. Living life while being afraid of the present and future can deny innumerable opportunities. But living life while being afraid of what happened in the past can do just the same. Failing to take risks, whether it is through artistic or political means, limits the opportunity to look back in history and acknowledge the implications and importance of life-changing events or epochs. If we are constantly worried about the appropriateness of reacting to various historical events, we will impede our progress of learning about its political and social implications. Perhaps most importantly, it will restrict us from learning what it teaches about eternal moral issues of good and evil.
At least for a short span, all Americans should stop squabbling over the politics of President Bush and the war on terrorism to view this film. Perhaps instead of worrying about the appropriateness of the timing or the profit-making intentions of the filmmakers, all Americans can unite in remembering when our fellow Americans stood up in the face of evil. Such remembrance is the very antithesis of shameless self-promotion.
Greg Collins is a Collegian columnist.
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