9 / 11 Burnout

Yes - one of best books that I've ever read. Interesting now to know that some of seeds of 9/11 started in Egypt with Mubarak cracking down on Islamic radicals.

 

I have no problem with the 9/11 tributes. I just really, really, really hate the song God Bless America.

 

I think MLB goes out of its way to have the worst performances of that song.

 

9/11 is certainly worth remembering and learning from, but I think anniversary stories are a newspaper crutch.

So in this particular case, it seems news organizations are angling to out 9/11 each other and others are out-partriotism each other.

When a possible "mosque" near ground zero becomes a hot-button issue, it seems we have a long way to go.

 

I'll take "America the Beautiful" or "God Bless the USA" over "God Bless America" every single time...

I remember going to a baseball game in Atlanta a little more than a week after 9/11 and they said the pledge of allegiance, the national anthem, America the Beautiful and probably 1-2 other patriotic songs/tributes... I remember a writer who was sitting behind me saying, "yeah, I'll file this gamer if they ever stop with the songs and the tributes."

This was maybe Sept. 20, 2001 and people were already thinking some things were overkill. I didn't think that then, but 10 years later, with all of the problems that we're facing in this country, I don't think anyone benefits from reliving a day that was probably among the worst of most of our lives.

 

Our paper is putting out an anniversary section.

I've spoken to family members and asked them if the anniversary of Sept. 11 harbors bad memories, and almost universally, they say it isn't any different than any other day. They miss their loved ones and think about them every day, anniversary or not.

I don't know how many people will be interested in reading these stories or not. I don't think the stories are "a crutch" though. Our community is having three different remembrances Sunday.

 

Some might hate "America the Beautiful" because "God shed his grace on thee."
You know, the happy people with lawyers.
Then again, as long as no one could sing it other than Ray Charles, meaning we'd have to play CDs at every ballgame, I'd be for it. Anything less than Ray Charles is treason.

 

And of course, we can all look back on the happy people who were insisting that schools take down the "God Bless America" marquees on Sept. 12 and 13, 2001.

 

I have no problem with remembering and commemorating. But the 10th anniversary has no more importance than the 9th or 11th anniversary. So I'm bothered by the specific focus on this one anniversary.

And btw, you will not find a better 9/11 exhibit than the one at the Newseum in DC, focusing on the coverage and how our colleagues worked that story. I swear I didn't breathe for 20 minutes, and then I cried for the next four hours. They have the mangled twisted broadcasting antenna from the top of one of the towers, just a stunning symbol of what we do and how we take for granted our ability to do it. If you ever have the opportunity...go.

 

In my opinion, they can bring on every 9/11 documentary, film, photo collage, feature story, e.t.c. that they want to. There can never be enough reminders of that day, of the way we felt as a country in the immediate aftermath and of the freedoms that we take for granted on a daily basis.

I, for one, never appreciated the job police and firefighters do more than I did that day and never appreciated the job our military does to protect our country more than that day and I don't think those are lessons we should let fall by the wayside.

 

The police and firefighters were absolute heroes, but what did the military do to protect our country that day?