Update on 9/11

When I first decided to write something today, this was going to be a completely different article. Then I happened to glance at my last post nearly a year ago and saw that it was about the proposed mosque near Ground Zero.

I'm guessing that that debate has died down now given the state of our economy and the recent shenanigans in Congress. Most people are more concerned about what's in their pockets than whether or not different religions should be granted the same guarantee of free speech and religion as the rest of us.

This morning, I watched a short video on the memorial at Ground Zero scheduled to open on the tenth anniversary of that tragedy.

I was not ready for the visceral reaction I had when I saw the memorial. The shot was from an airplane looking straight down at the two squares on the footprint of the Twin Towers. There was a sinking in my stomach, and a profound sense of sadness overcame me. The final waterfall splashing down into the hole in the center of each perfect square reminded me of the many people who lost their lives that day, who became part of an earthly void. Some were never found, and this memorial will serve as their final resting place as well as a reminder to the rest of us.

And I wondered, have we really learned anything?

I find these quotes from some Congressmen on the question of whether a mosque should be built near Ground Zero interesting, if only for the fact that they sound reasonably thought out.

From an article listed on Yahoo, "Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat, did not answer directly if he thought the mosque should be built, but said he supported its designed intention to provide interfaith communication and dialogue. 'But it can't be there, and I don't think it should be allowed to be there, if it's going to be some type of way to undercut the truth, the reality, of 9/11... which was an attack by fanatical Muslims against the United States,' he told the program. Republican Representative Peter King of New York acknowledged the right to build the mosque but challenged Islamic leaders to 'listen to the deep wounds and anguish that this is causing to so many good people' and consider moving the center to a site further away."

Is there hope that some of our representatives might actually be THINKING about issues rather than just throwing taunts and slinging mud at each other.

And to those who keep insisting that 3,000 Americans were killed on September 11, 2001, please check your facts. That number includes the 19 hijackers, and I don't think any of us want to claim them as "American." It also includes nationals from over 70 countries, also not "American."

Not that we should mourn those deaths any less - it just shows the horror of extremism and how if affects the entire world.