This post was scheduled for publication on 9:59 on 11 September 2009. At that time eight years ago, the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed, and the collapse was viewed and heard by a vast television and radio audience. It stood for 56 minutes 10 seconds after the impact of Flight 175 into the building. As the roar of the collapse receded, tremendous gray-white clouds of pulverized concrete and gypsum rush through the streets. Most observers think a new explosion or impact has produced smoke and debris that now obscures the tower. When the wind clears the immediate space, observers can see that the south tower is gone.
This is the eighth anniversary of 9/11, when 2,974 individuals died on U.S. soil from attacks made by U.S. airline jets in the hands of terrorists. Forty percent of the families of these victims never recovered any loved ones’ remains. Within the past eight years, nearly 800 first responders who raced to the scene to try to save victims have died – 27 percent from cancer and 31 percent from suicide.
About seven years ago, the 9/11 community came together to support the idea that the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, and they made history. They decided the attacks on America ought to become a federally-observed, national day of service and remembrance, rather than become just another day on the calendar. The 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance was started by the 9/11 community, eager to leave a lasting and positive legacy honoring their lost loved ones. The remembrance is supported by respected nonprofits such as the Points of Light Institute, founded with the help of former President George Bush Sr., AARP, America’s Promise Alliance, City Year, ServiceNation, and many other nonpartisan groups listed on their Web site at 911dayofservice.org.
During the past eight years, several efforts were made to politicize 9/11. Without 9/11, some people feel, the Iraqi War might not have had support. From this perspective, some individuals led by David Ray Griffin and other conspiracy theorists believe that 9/11 was a U.S. government plot to fuel a war and to limit civil rights. These theories are fueled by the images of the twin towers collapsing as if they were under controlled demolition, rather than due to structural weakening by fire. Publications such as Popular Mechanics have made efforts to debunk these theories. One paragraph from the Popular Mechanics story stated:
Three and a half years later, not everyone is convinced we know the truth. Go to Google.com, type in the search phrase “World Trade Center conspiracy” and you’ll get links to an estimated 628,000 Web sites. More than 3000 books on 9/11 have been published; many of them reject the official consensus that hijackers associated with Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda flew passenger planes into U.S. landmarks.
Healthy skepticism, it seems, has curdled into paranoia. Wild conspiracy tales are peddled daily on the Internet, talk radio and in other media. Blurry photos, quotes taken out of context and sketchy eyewitness accounts have inspired a slew of elaborate theories: The Pentagon was struck by a missile; the World Trade Center was razed by demolition-style bombs; Flight 93 was shot down by a mysterious white jet. As outlandish as these claims may sound, they are increasingly accepted abroad and among extremists here in the United States.
Another issue that has become a sore point for some is the erection of a memorial and museum on the site where the Twin Towers stood in downtown Manhattan. However, this project is going forward and some board members for this project include families of the victims. The board of this nonprofit organization feels that this land is space made sacred by tragic loss, and that the memorial will demonstrate “the consequences of terrorism on individual lives and its impact on communities at the local, national, and international levels, the Museum will attest to the triumph of human dignity over human depravity and affirm an unwavering commitment to the fundamental value of human life.”
The latest furor over 9/11 was created by the federal holiday for the 9/11 victims. On 24 August 2009, Matthew Vadum wrote a piece in the American Spectator that drew the attention of a political right wing audience when he wrote:
The Obama White House is behind a cynical, coldly calculated political effort to erase the meaning of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks from the American psyche and convert Sept. 11 into a day of leftist celebration and statist idolatry.
This effort to reshape the American psyche has nothing to do with healing the nation and everything to do with easing the nation along in the ongoing radical transformation of America that President Obama promised during last year’s election campaign. The president signed into law a measure in April that designated Sept. 11 as a National Day of Service, but it’s not likely many lawmakers thought this meant that day was going to be turned into a celebration of ethanol, carbon emission controls, and radical community organizing.
According to David Paine, President and co-founder of MyGoodDeed, people who read Vadum’s article concluded that the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance was “hatched by President Obama, not the families at all, and furthermore, that our group, MyGoodDeed, was a front for “pinko commies.” In an instant, what we had spent years building from scratch with the help of conservatives and liberals alike, not to mention very senior members of the Bush Administration, was transformed into a leftist political conspiracy to trick Americans into supporting President Obama’s socialist agenda.”
According to Paine, Vadum clarified his position and “provided excellent and accurate information on our group and the 9/11 family origins of the observance, which thankfully stopped some of the more vociferous attacks [on the 9/11 Day of Service Web site].” However, that post was hidden or removed; otherwise, a link to that article would be posted here. Other writers have pointed to a press release offered on 8 September 2008, where former President Bush renewed his post-9/11 Call to Service and where he honored the “compassion of America’s volunteers.” In this release, he stated:
“Volunteerism is strong in the country. But the truth of the matter is, the farther we’ve gotten away from 9/11, that memory has begun to fade,” the President said. “And my call to people is, there’s always a need. You should be volunteering not because of 9/11, but you should be volunteering because our country needs you on a regular basis. And so today I call upon our fellow citizens to devote 4,000 hours over your lifetime in service to your country. You’ll become a better person for it, and our society will be more healthy as a result of it.”
While a museum and memorial may help people to remember the shock and pain of 9/11 eight years ago and keep memories of the victims alive, political knife thrusts into the belly of this event may continue going forward. As President Bush stated, memories do fade and the fact that mysteries still surround the event helps to keep conspiracy theories afloat. In respect to those who lost their lives eight years ago today, a few facts may help to offer reverence to their memory for a brief moment:
- The youngest passenger on the hijacked jets was Christine Hanson, who was two-years-old and traveling on United Airlines Flight 175 for her first trip to Disneyland.
- The oldest passenger on the hijacked jets was Robert Norton, who was traveling on American Airlines Flight 11. He was 82.
- The New York City Fire Department lost 343 firefighters, almost half the number of on-duty deaths in the department’s 100-year history.
- Seven in ten Americans have stated that they experienced depression since the attacks. New York State Office of Mental Health estimates more than 33,000 individuals showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
- The median age for the victims was 39 years (range: 2-85 years); the median age was 38 years for females (range: 2-81 years) and 39 years for males (range: 3-85 years). Three people were aged under 5 years, and three were aged over 80 years.
- People from 83 different countries died in the attacks on the World Trade Center.
