American Self-Importance and A Certain Day in 2001
Recently the Coalition for 9-11 Families filed suit to block the start of construction on the memorial at the site of the former Twin Towers (this column only uses the term ground zero to refer to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II). These public battles have been tiresome in the extreme, populated with all sorts of strident proclamations designed to remind all within hearing range that the families are the real victims of this historic attack, while also displaying all the distasteful "what about ME??" tendencies of American victimhood. This group declared that their opposition to the monument was linked to the idea that the Tower footprints are now sacred ground, and should therefore be left permanently uncovered. Apparently the irony of declaring anything sacred ground in a secular democratic society was lost on these families.
In the 1860's the US fought a civil war that pitted the southern slaveowning states against the more industrialized northern region. Between the two armies over 600,000 were killed by combat or disease in the course of hostilities. The battles of Antietam and Gettysburg resulted in the deaths of over 10,000 soldiers alone, and the casualty totals were equally horrifying--over 23,000 killed or wounded at Antietam, and the astonishing total of over 50,000 killed or wounded cemented Gettysburg's claim to the prize of bloodiest battle ever fought on the North American continent. This war was no mere Red state vs. Blue state in the newspaper columns; this war was blood and iron, in pure enough form to make Otto Bismarck smile. Yet this war and its dead never made the demands for attention that the 9-11 families have; there are plaques and small monuments at these battlefields, and many many graves, and that is how it should be. The lack of media saturation in 19th-century America helped as well, as did the fact that those who died in the war knew the magnitude of their own sacrifices.
Three thousand innocent victims deserve a memorial. This memorial should be what it is--a memorial--and not some hyperventilating pseudo-patriotic screed of propaganda. When the Twin Towers fell, the area beneath them became a mass grave. To suggest that they must remain forever unsullied in the busiest section of America's busiest city is unrealistic (cemeteries have been moved many times in NYC's history). The willful and pompous self-importance of those American families who wish to call the Towers' footprints holy ground assists the Bush administration in powerful ways--it allows them to utilize the language of the pulpit in constructing their multifarious deceits, and it allows them to cover their misdeeds with a blanket of principle and honor. The victims of 9-11 were not victims of a military attack, as this nation's government has repeatedly claimed--they were innocent victims of the horrors of American foreign policy since WWII, collateral damage in the attempt to placate and protect American oil companies. Like German peasants caught between armies in the Thirty Years' War, or Serbian refugees of the First World War, or Japanese citizens of Hiroshima in August 1945, the people who died on 9-11 lost their lives as an ultimate result of disastrously aggressive actions by their own country's governing bodies or executives.
In the long history of human atrocities, the number of dead from 9-11 is dwarfed by such memorable slaughters as the Christian conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, the clearing of native peoples from the American continents, the Vietnam War, or the Nazi-engineered Holocaust. Americans of our generation have not suffered through anything as horrendous as these events. Despite the horror of that day, no special classification should be required to memorialize those who died. Their lives and deaths were no more special or sacred than any of the other millions of innocents who have died throughout humanity's long and bloody history. Being American does not give your death extra significance, or extra sanctity. Being unable to bury your dead family member is a something that millions of people the world over have experienced, whether through war, famine, or natural disaster. Just ask any survivor of Hurricane Katrina about that, and see if that person is looking to make all of New Orleans into sacred ground.
In the 1860's the US fought a civil war that pitted the southern slaveowning states against the more industrialized northern region. Between the two armies over 600,000 were killed by combat or disease in the course of hostilities. The battles of Antietam and Gettysburg resulted in the deaths of over 10,000 soldiers alone, and the casualty totals were equally horrifying--over 23,000 killed or wounded at Antietam, and the astonishing total of over 50,000 killed or wounded cemented Gettysburg's claim to the prize of bloodiest battle ever fought on the North American continent. This war was no mere Red state vs. Blue state in the newspaper columns; this war was blood and iron, in pure enough form to make Otto Bismarck smile. Yet this war and its dead never made the demands for attention that the 9-11 families have; there are plaques and small monuments at these battlefields, and many many graves, and that is how it should be. The lack of media saturation in 19th-century America helped as well, as did the fact that those who died in the war knew the magnitude of their own sacrifices.
Three thousand innocent victims deserve a memorial. This memorial should be what it is--a memorial--and not some hyperventilating pseudo-patriotic screed of propaganda. When the Twin Towers fell, the area beneath them became a mass grave. To suggest that they must remain forever unsullied in the busiest section of America's busiest city is unrealistic (cemeteries have been moved many times in NYC's history). The willful and pompous self-importance of those American families who wish to call the Towers' footprints holy ground assists the Bush administration in powerful ways--it allows them to utilize the language of the pulpit in constructing their multifarious deceits, and it allows them to cover their misdeeds with a blanket of principle and honor. The victims of 9-11 were not victims of a military attack, as this nation's government has repeatedly claimed--they were innocent victims of the horrors of American foreign policy since WWII, collateral damage in the attempt to placate and protect American oil companies. Like German peasants caught between armies in the Thirty Years' War, or Serbian refugees of the First World War, or Japanese citizens of Hiroshima in August 1945, the people who died on 9-11 lost their lives as an ultimate result of disastrously aggressive actions by their own country's governing bodies or executives.
In the long history of human atrocities, the number of dead from 9-11 is dwarfed by such memorable slaughters as the Christian conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, the clearing of native peoples from the American continents, the Vietnam War, or the Nazi-engineered Holocaust. Americans of our generation have not suffered through anything as horrendous as these events. Despite the horror of that day, no special classification should be required to memorialize those who died. Their lives and deaths were no more special or sacred than any of the other millions of innocents who have died throughout humanity's long and bloody history. Being American does not give your death extra significance, or extra sanctity. Being unable to bury your dead family member is a something that millions of people the world over have experienced, whether through war, famine, or natural disaster. Just ask any survivor of Hurricane Katrina about that, and see if that person is looking to make all of New Orleans into sacred ground.
posted by alyosha mcbain at 6:29 AM
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