9/11/07: A Call to Rebuild Our Hope
Six years later, we are mostly numb. The reality of 9/11/2001 is embedded in wrongful death suits, bitter relatives, struggling survivors, and another endless morass in a foreign hell hole. The media try hard to sustain the fading memory of nationalistic oneness and global support that was the lone positive force following the terrorist attacks that brought down the twin towers and our nation's morale.
Three years ago, on another 9/11 anniversary, I predicted that a phoenix rising from the ashes of the World Trade Center would be standing tall by now in lower Manhattan. Such is our national temperament that we can't even agree on simple architecture. This nation is slowly being brought to its knees, but not by terrorism.
A popular 20th Century philosopher, Pogo, said "We have met the enemy, and it is us." We have put ourselves as a nation into a series of no win situations. Iraq. First Amendment Rights. Right to life vs. right of choice. Global Warming. Mortgage Crises and Hedge Fund Excess. The symbol of our nation today remains a deep hole in lower Manhattan, waiting for a logical direction for the future. Waiting for a vision we can believe in… and build upon.
Today, September 11, 2007, newspapers, television networks and stations and thousands of media outlets will be filled with a national outpouring of remembrances.
More importantly, we need a national outpouring of positive energy and belief in our future. We need a rebirth. When ABC-TV opted out of wall-to-wall live coverage of World Trade Center Memorial events that will be redundantly broadcast across multiple media outlets, protestors forced ABC to back down. I personally was planning on watching WABC-TV's planned Live with Regis and Kelly, which promised to be more relevant to America's future than to continue mourning the past. That is not to suggest we should fail those who gave their health, their lives and their family's well being. But its time for us to move on and regain our forward momentum.
Just eight days after 9/11/01, I wrote: "We are at war. It will not be a short war. It will not be an easy war. We have no way to measure its impact or duration. But if any of us believes that the worst is over, we need to listen more closely to our leaders and hear what they are telling us." If we do anything on this 9/11, let us all admit that we are in this together. Let's begin a true national conversation on blogs, through YouTube and other video sites, through political websites, through any voice possible. We can no longer depend on the networks to be the voice of America. Where have you gone Walter Cronkite? The nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Perhaps we don't need Uncle Walter, if the voice of the people can rise up. For the first time in history, the people can speak out without restriction. Let's hope leaders emerge from the depths of the Internet to help rebuild our hope and spirit, and renew our faith in the future.
