Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Where Is the Memorial?

Sorry I wasn't going to do any other 9/11 stuff today but this slide show on slate today, about a simple yet elegant monument in Dublin-the Dublin Spire, reminded me that 6 years later we still don't have a memorial or anything at Ground Zero (and possibly work has begun.) I don't necessarily like the Freedom Tower idea but there should be something there.
The Onion News Network, before they ventured into tabloidness with the Richter Story, did an investigation on the slow process of construction and the unhappiness some feel with the design:

Al Qaeda Also Fed Up With Ground Zero Construction Delays
I remember some time ago when Keith Olbermann talked about the lack of a memorial and his idea that I kind of liked- simple yet a powerful statement- I found it on Front Row at the Freak Show
"Keith Olbermann once suggested on his show that they rebuild the towers, only that they build them 2,752 inches shorter, one inch for each life that was lost. " And so when future generations asked why one of the towers was shorter someone would be able to tell them and try to convey that emotion. I think that that would keep it alive in people's hearts through oral retelling, which was the source of transmission of history for eons before writing and, in a way to make sure we never forget. We never forget what the day really meant, unlike those we constantly use it to spread fear and to question patriotism, and for purely political and partisan purposes, but don't remember. As Keith Olbermann said once, as long as there is a hole in the ground at Ground Zero this government has failed. And forgotten. But he says it better then I ever could in this special comment from exactly a year ago today:

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