New York City
September 11th, 2001
We must never forget.
11 Comments
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I’m always a bit uneasy at all the mawkishness surrounding the “memory” of events like this. Those who died are referred to as “heroes” when in fact they were nothing of the sort. Most were simply victims.
Rather than holding acts of remembrance and countless acts of “silence” wouldn’t it be better to respond to such atrocities through the noise of the citizens of a great country getting on with their lives?
It may not be nice to say it but from this side of the pond you’d think that this tragedy was worse because it happened to the US. There are so many horrendous acts are we supposed to remember them all? I don’t agree that this is good at all – and to my mind flatters the terrorists a little.
To get on with the business of living while giving a two-fingered salute to those who commit such acts is, to me, the best response.
SG
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Stephen- I’m not sure that it’s mawkish; it certainly isn’t for most Americans that I know. My radio show this afternoon will be punctuated by a song by Toby Keith called ‘Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue’, which responds in righteous anger to what Al Qaeda did on 9/11. ‘We must never forget’ is my call to legitimate rage for as long as it takes to eradicate terror.
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Stephen youre actually trying to downplay the importance of 9-11?
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I believe it was a brutally important day.
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‘Heroes’ refers to the brave men and women of the FDNY and NYPD who went into the towers to rescue people, those were the heroes of 9/11 that people refer to. I think I know what point you were making Stephen but you are wrong, people are getting on with their lives and have done, acts of remembrance are taking place today because it is the 5 year anniversary. And nobody I have ever heard suggest that it is worse because it happened to America, but America is a big place with a lot of influence and that is why you hear so much about this tragedy compared to some others. It is the sound made by almost 300 million Americans who are still learning how to cope with teh reprecussions of this event.
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Thanks for your comments folks. Looks like we’ll have Mr Graham to convince! Meantime, check out this post from libertarian blog Samizdata.net in the same vein.
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911 was tragic, no to ways about it.
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I didn’t say the day was unimportant. Of course it was important. It has virtually determined western foreign policy since. And feelings of rage are proper as a response. However, what I’m seeing is just another symtom of a modern disease – the indulgence of grief. It’s become a western obsession. And this event was by no means the first: note the public reaction to the death of Princess Diana in Britain.
I didn’t hold any act of remembrance on Monday. No moment of silence. I shed no tears. I won’t allow terrorist scum to have such an impact on me. What we need is fewer tears and more steely resolve, and certainly a lot less bullplop about the ground on which the towers stood being “hallowed.”
SG
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Check out this article in the same vein:
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/1637/
SG
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I agree that we shouldn’t pause for long to cry about this event. But it is a false dichotomy to say that the only choice is tears or resolve. I am not ashamed to say that I felt heartbroken yesterday remembering what happened to those people who lost family members and that is what inspires my resolve. The rest of the year I am as angry as you John and as steely as you Stephen, but there is room for tears in the mess that was 9-11. Or don’t you think so?
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I totally agree, Christy. And a very ‘libertarian’ response would be to say that tears or resolve are both valid ways of addressing the 9/11 issue: the real moral dichotomy in my mind can be found by contrasting the reactions of those who love freedom and saw it attacked on 9/11, and those who wish death upon the West and applauded the 9/11 hijackers. Now THAT’S a dichotomy. We should stay angry at them for as long as it takes to eradicate them completely. The main purpose of this post was a simple nod in that direction.
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