As is often the case, the simplicity of silence carried the most
profound weight in commemorating an event five years ago that
changed the world.
As is often the case, the simplicity of silence carried the most profound weight in commemorating an event five years ago that changed the world.
The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 have now been the subject of films and mainstream television presentations. Last week the buildup to a show to be aired on ABC created so much controversy and political infighting that the focus of what actually happened in 2001 was obscured.
What happened was that three hijacked airliners attacked America and a fourth airliner intended for that purpose crashed into our soil. The World Trade Center was attacked and destroyed. The Pentagon was attacked. Three thousand people were killed.
And too much of the talk last week had nothing to do with any of that. The talk had to do with the content of the ABC program. The talk was embarrassing.
For the record, the ABC show, “The Path to 9/11,” a dramatization, not a documentary, cost $40 million to make and was beaten soundly in the ratings by a football game.
But Monday at Ground Zero, Americans showed the grace and cultural restraint of a nation that is still able to rise up and cut through hype to get at true meaning. Around the world, people from other nations paid respects. Some of these respects came from nations who strongly disagree with our foreign policy.
At Ground Zero the moments of silence spoke elequently of our collective pain. Some Americans spoke plainly of what really mattered.
“I think it’s important that people remember as years go on,” said Diana Kellie, of Acaconda, Mont., who spoke to an Associated Press reporter and whose niece and niece’s fiance were killed on one of the planes. “The dead are really not dead until they’re forgotten.”
No, as has been stated at other junctures of our history, we cannot forget. There will be new buildings. There will be new wars. There have been more terrorist attacks around the globe and there could well be more here. There seems to be a common sentiment that it is not a question of if we will be attacked again, but when.
Yesterday, what mattered was honoring those who died on Sept. 11, 2001. Not how television represented the day. Not how politicians spoke or what they said. What mattered was remembering that thousands of innocent people died and that their families are still stricken. It is a simple message. As simple as a moment of silence.
