Remembering 9/11 And Pondering A New President’s Impact

I wrote the following two years ago, and not a lot has changed.

Remembering 9/11

It’s eerie – today, September 11, 2006, is a cool, crisp morning, signaling that fall is on its way. I’m sitting upstairs at the bay window of our Brooklyn Coop, right where I was five years ago at 8:46 AM, when the Bloomberg radio program I was listening to went static. I was working from home because I was going to vote that morning, before heading into work. Then my colleague, whom I was chatting with over AOL Instant Message, told me to turn on the news because a plane flew into the Word Trade Center. I did, then quickly ran to the roof of our building and watched the horror unfold. In the end, roughly 3,000 people were murdered within a few hours.

By far, it’s the most horrible thing I’ve ever witnessed. Aside from the sheer horror and shock, one of the things hardest to explain to a lot of non-New Yorkers, where most of the carnage occurred, is how far-reaching the impact was to the city. Certainly, hundreds of thousands of immediate family members and close friends of victims were left mourning. But in a city of over eight million, three thousand people means there was likely only one or two degrees of separation to at least one person who was murdered. You either knew someone, or you knew someone who knew someone. It was likely you knew several people. It was a hell of a lot more than a sensational event that made for great television imagery, and I hope it’s not forgotten once this fifth-anniversary tribute passes (a phenomenon perhaps more descriptive of New Orleans and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina).

Five years later, I still don’t know what to make of it. It’s opened up more questions: What to make of of Bush’s misguided efforts in Iraq, which took our nation’s defense off the real terrorist problem. What to make of Bush and the larger federal government’s failed promises to reconstruct, and invest more in anti-terrorism infrastructure in vulnerable U.S. cities, particularly New York. Oh yeah, what about our borders? How come the world was supportive and sympathetic to the U.S. in the days following 9/11, but somehow the U.S. seems to have squandered that? How come it seems there are so many more copycat terrorists? Why is that hatred is like a nasty virus, and our efforts to fix the problem are actually only treating symptoms? Why is it that the fundamental problem has gotten worse?

It’s a sad day. But we’re New Yorkers and Americans, and we’ll move on.

As we enter the climax of the presidential election season, I wonder if the outcome will have much influence on our perspectives of 9/11 next year. Both candidates’ Web sites offer very different messages. Obama offers a wordy message of remembrance, unity and hope. McCain offers a more concise message of remembrance and selfless duty. I’m not sure which one I agree with more.

What do you think? Enough politics for now.

(Click on either 9/11 screenshot a large, readable image of their home pages.)

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www.johnmccain.com on 9/11/2008

Published by Max Kalehoff

Father, sailor and marketing executive.

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2 Comments

  1. I'm German-American. I moved from Hamburg, Germany to the San Francisco Bay four weeks before the attacks happened. I couldn't believe what I saw on TV, and worst, that the terrorists came from my hometown.
    I was shocked and I thought we will go after them and wipe them out, but the opposite happened. Our administration started two wars, bullied their partners in Europe and elsewhere and a propaganda campaign of fear gave them
    another four years in the White House.
    We are isolated in the world now, the terrorists have won so far and killed another 4000+ Americans and we have digged us in a hole where it is hard to get out…
    Yes, It's a very sad day.

  2. I'm German-American. I moved from Hamburg, Germany to the San Francisco Bay four weeks before the attacks happened. I couldn't believe what I saw on TV, and worst, that the terrorists came from my hometown.
    I was shocked and I thought we will go after them and wipe them out, but the opposite happened. Our administration started two wars, bullied their partners in Europe and elsewhere and a propaganda campaign of fear gave them
    another four years in the White House.
    We are isolated in the world now, the terrorists have won so far and killed another 4000+ Americans and we have digged us in a hole where it is hard to get out…
    Yes, It's a very sad day.

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