IS ENOUGH ENOUGH?
I'm a bit relieved the 9/11 anniversary has passed.
The television media coverage was so overpowering and extensive that it made me physically ill.
I was heartsick as I listened to government-ignored rescuers who now are fighting lung diseases contracted from breathing debris-filled dust at ground zero.
A knot gripped my stomach for days after hearing the details of a son's cell-phone call to his father from Flight 175 as it headed for the South Tower.
Many other stories of survivors and the fallen brought me to tears.
I finally had to change the TV channel to some mindless program.
I understand that we should never forget and the media should inform the public on new developments, but I don't want to see all that needless loss of life, all that pain, over and over. There's no doubt I'll remember it vividly ... forever.
Am I out of line to think that we can honor those who died and served during 9/11 in quiet ways on that day, without a week of rehashing the actual tragedy?
posted by Diana at 11:29 AM
18 Comments:
I agree with you, Diana. We will never forget, how can we? Having lived through that day, that week, that entire year, I don't need a television show or docu-drama to reinforce the pain or the memory of that dramatic day.
Unfortunately the media "overcovered" the tragedy. I still feel horrible about 9/11 but too much coverage destroys some of the way we should feel about it. You almost feel like you want all the media to just stop.
I must admit I still get emotional when I can take the time to sit and remember the tragedy.
Let me do it by myself, I don't need the media frenzy.
The human mind has this wonderful tendency to forget unpleasant things. It is a response that is built into our genes as part of our survival mechanism. Imagine if we had to go through life without having the ability to forget unpleasantness. We couldn’t survive.
On the other hand, some unpleasant events are so important to remember that we cannot take a chance to forget them -- unless we are constantly reminded of them. The best example of this is the Holocaust. There are people who deny that it happened (e.g. Mel Gibson’s father), and the Holocaust was a tragedy many orders of magnitude worse than the 9/11 attacks. Meanwhile, anti-semitism is running rampant all over Europe again.
So maybe the media coverage was too extensive these last few days, but as a free American you had at your disposal the ability to change the channel and watch something lighter. If Bin Laden is victorious, you won’t be able to do that any more. And a lot worse!
We need to see more of the events that happened on 9-11-01. People have forgotten what happened since the terrorists have been foiled in their plans for a repeat performance. We need to see the photos of bodies splattered on the ground and the buildings collapsing.
We are not fighting people who we can deal with. They hate us, our religions, our freedoms, our way of life and everything that we have that makes us a beacon in the free world.
You can't bargain with people who start out with the goal that they want us dead. All of us. It's us or them, so I want to chose them.
They are losing in Iraq. It is their Vietnam. Their only way to win is to use the media to their benefit. They know that we have too many politicians who put personal goals ahead of the future of the country. George Bush is the enemy. Before him, life was great in the world. They forget the Islamo-nazis have been attacking us and the west since 1972 Munich attack.
Many people who lost loved ones were interviewed in the days prior to the anniversary of 911. President Bush had cameras and microphones in his face for the entire weekend. And during all of this coverage, I never heard three little words: OSAMA BIN LADEN! If I had access to the media, I would pubically ask: "Mr. President why haven't you captured this murderer and does it have anything to do with the public photographs of your family members with the Bin Ladens?"
I think the coverage overload was due to the 5th year anniversary milestone. It was not as intense the previous few years and I suspect it will wane again until the 10th anniversary. What troubles me most is that when the media shows the planes crashing into the buildings or the images of the victims plummeting to their deaths, in some perverse way, this allows the terrorists to relive their actions and they continue to celebrate their evil deeds with each replay. How can anyone even attempt to recover from post-traumatic stress syndrome if these events are continually shown ? I believe that if the technology and the multimedia outlets of today were available in the past, the horrific images of WWII, etc. would be shown in the same fashion. Unfortunately, it is human nature to "rubberneck" at the scene of an accident, especially a gruesome one, to view it. Today, the media went right back to the usual stories,with some of the usual fluff i.e. "Tomcat"'s baby Suri. Did you know that in Japanese "Suri" means pickpocket?
The overload reminded me of the coverage of "TS Ernesto" here in Florida. Three days of constant reruns and reminders of what it was like last year and Ernesto was a small speedbump. There is no way to adequately describe the horror of either Katrina or 9/11 and the search for another way to portray the same thing only cheapens the memory.
The coverage was excellant, it was a great reminder just how evil the world is and will remain for years to come. It also brings back how fragile life is. On that day i was only out of WTC at 8:15 AM going to work at my firm near the battery
a train delay or waking up late and who knows what could have transpired.
It was tragic to witness what i saw close up and experienced along with thousands of people attempting to contact family members and trying to get off Manhatten island
just my two cents worth, but the media in relations with the US government believe that Fear based images and dscussions on 9/11 is the easiest way to keep the world citizens thinking that the "war on Terror" is acceptable and down right necessary. Great blog by the way.
I dont think we can over due this with coverage on each and every anniversary. If we have lost a loved one to 9-11 we would be all over it. I know we will never forget, but we still most still have the coverage on the tv and papers. It is so very sad to listen to, but maybe someone finds confort in when they say the names that are honored and lost their lives so unnecessarily. If we dont have coverage on such a tragedy, than we would be brushing it off like nothing ever happen.
I worked in Middletown, NJ. We had an excellent view of the city from the fifth floor of our building. I moved to NJ from Indiana and I loved walking over to that window and staring at the skyline.
Every afternoon, I would grab a cup and coffee and watch the afternoon sun turn the towers a brilliant gold. It was a magnificant site.
On 9/11, I stood at the same window and watched the towers burn. I didn't believe it when they fell. I thought they had to be there behind the smoke.
The next day, I went back to the window. It was the last time. I couldn't look out from it, again. It hurt too much.
I thought the coverage was excellent. It reminded us that we must never forget. We must not forget those who lost their lives nor the people who caused this to happen.
Never Forget,Never Forgive! Our wounds are still fresh. Given the drift of time however,our 9-11 Memorials will fade somewhat to a more subtle and serene commemoration.
One only needs to look back at Pearl Harbor....65 years since and the Memorials are quite downsized.Perhaps by year 10,it will be different.
What I find much more bothersome is our leaders telling us another attack will occur.When and how is not yet known to them.
We and subsequently our children after we are gone;will have to live with the scurge of terrorism on our doorsteps.
God Bless all the victims of 9-11,especially Officer Richard Rodriguez. Born in Perth Amboy,he was married to the niece of an old co-worker of mine.
Let Freedom Ring!
I think the coverage is important, but like you, I couldn't listen to too much. I think it is different for us in the tri-state area because it was so close and personal to us. I think it is important for people in other areas of the US that were not so involved or effected to be reminded. America was attacked, not just New York and Washington. I hope the coverage was just as extensive elsewhere.
I found the newspaper coverage easier for me than television. It's too much for me watching their pain and sorrow.
Especially appreciated the article on Middletown particularly where it said "they only went to work." That's how I related to it thinking of myself being in an office with my co-workers starting the day with a cup of coffee and then disaster hit them.
I could not watch the coverage on TV 9/11. I skimmed the newspapers. I feel for those who have lung disese too from working in Ground Zero. I,do pray for those who died . I also prayed for those who died in the first bombing , Feb. 26th,1993. Those 7 who died are forgotten. They must be remembered too. There may be a War on Terror, but people should pray for peace. -which starts with us.
Other newspapers had extensive coverage too. The New-Press in SWFlorida had readers write how 9/11 affected them. Their essays were published along with these Beautiful pictures of them selves. They looked so posed as if they went to a studio.The essay was sufficient.
agree wholeheartedly regarding the coverage of 9/11, WAY TOO MUCH.
I will never forget where I was or what I was doing on that horrific day.
I do not need to know the last heart wrenching words said to loved ones by the victims aboard the planes during cell phone calls. Just imagining what was said is torture enough.
Hopefully lessons have been learned and won't be repeated.
I also hope in years to come, the media will refrain from rehashing all the events continuously as was done during this anniversary.
I thought tthe radio coverage on-site was too maudlin. All the references seemed to be to the Americans who died on 9/11 with no mention of those from over 80 nations who also perished.
The pain of 9/11 always seems too much, but to ignore it would be to insult the memory of those who died.
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