2008 Woodie Awards
A somber birthday
Ted Rogers
Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: Editorial / Opinion
My birthday, Sept. 4, has never been a good day to watch the news. My freshman year, I couldn't get a normal birthday greeting without, "Jeez, did you hear about Steve Irwin and the stingray?" The year before that, I remember hearing about hurricane Katrina destroying New Orleans.
And no matter what year it is, every media outlet will begin to ramp up the coverage of the tragedy yearly revisited on us a week later ? Sept. 11.
Magazines, television, newspapers ? no matter the source, there are images of the burning towers, the wrecked Pentagon, the fiery hole in Pennsylvania where the passengers made a decision to not be victims. All of them, asking us not to forget that horrors of that day.
As if we could.
I can only speak for myself, but as long as my heart beats, I can see the towers collapsing in my mind's eye. As time goes on, however, I'm beginning to think that I see the situation a lot differently than most people.
Most stories about what happened on Sept. 11 have a surprisingly upbeat message to them. The pieces generally are about how brave the passengers on Flight 93 were, or how the firefighters are coping. Some publications like to say nice things about the Bush administration's first responses, which is a rare thing in these days.
As nice as it is to hear about the triumph of the human spirit, I have a hard time connecting these stories with 9/11. As much as I'd like hope and heroism to be my final thoughts on the matter, they aren't. When I think of 9/11, all I can see is an aftermath of failure.
Even the silliest television programs tell us that when a tragedy occurs, the participants will come back bruised, but wiser. If that's the case, well, we've got the bruises. America may have been deeply wounded by the terrorist attacks, but American policies have become no wiser.
Any thinking person will tell you that one of the reasons why America was attacked had to do with the US government's interference with the Muslim world's affairs. This is not an opinion of some crazed minister in Chicago ? this is a fact repeated by many of the terrorist leaders.
And no matter what year it is, every media outlet will begin to ramp up the coverage of the tragedy yearly revisited on us a week later ? Sept. 11.
Magazines, television, newspapers ? no matter the source, there are images of the burning towers, the wrecked Pentagon, the fiery hole in Pennsylvania where the passengers made a decision to not be victims. All of them, asking us not to forget that horrors of that day.
As if we could.
I can only speak for myself, but as long as my heart beats, I can see the towers collapsing in my mind's eye. As time goes on, however, I'm beginning to think that I see the situation a lot differently than most people.
Most stories about what happened on Sept. 11 have a surprisingly upbeat message to them. The pieces generally are about how brave the passengers on Flight 93 were, or how the firefighters are coping. Some publications like to say nice things about the Bush administration's first responses, which is a rare thing in these days.
As nice as it is to hear about the triumph of the human spirit, I have a hard time connecting these stories with 9/11. As much as I'd like hope and heroism to be my final thoughts on the matter, they aren't. When I think of 9/11, all I can see is an aftermath of failure.
Even the silliest television programs tell us that when a tragedy occurs, the participants will come back bruised, but wiser. If that's the case, well, we've got the bruises. America may have been deeply wounded by the terrorist attacks, but American policies have become no wiser.
Any thinking person will tell you that one of the reasons why America was attacked had to do with the US government's interference with the Muslim world's affairs. This is not an opinion of some crazed minister in Chicago ? this is a fact repeated by many of the terrorist leaders.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
David Hunt
posted 9/04/08 @ 6:42 PM EST
Any thinking and educated person will understand that Islam has been at war with the west since Day One.
But then, this requires a study of history, and culture, and actually being subtle and nuanced. (Continued…)
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