The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon were heart-wrenching and extremely emotional for all Americans. Like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, most Americans can tell you precisely where they were and what they were doing when they first heard the news that a plane struck one of the Twin Towers or that the towers collapsed.
Now, on the fifth anniversary of that tragic day, it seems time to reevaluate how we as a nation have progressed since then. While there aren’t enough hours or inches to possibly fully address such issues as post-Sept. 11, 2001 foreign policy or the drastic shifts in domestic policy, there certainly is one issue that deserves immediate attention. That issue is what is being done to recognize and pay homage to those whose lives were lost on Sept. 11.
There are several plans currently in the works and undergoing scrutiny for the area that was once occupied by the World Trade Center, according to an article in the Sept. 5 issue of the USA Today.
According to the article, the plans for the area include eight new skyscrapers including one tower, appropriately named “Freedom Tower,” that once complete, should stand 1,776 feet tall, an allusion to the year of our nation’s founding.
In addition to the skyscrapers there will be a new performing arts center, a “transportation hub” and the rebuilt St. Nicholas Church. The new and renovated buildings will create a square in the middle of which will be a memorial park with two diagonal “sunken” pools with galleries underneath, according to the article. Many contest that this action is disrespectful to those whose lives were lost, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Very little could be more appropriate to honor our loss than a reflecting pool around which people can sit and remember or reflect upon the purpose of these memorials. The galleries that will be below the pools are a perfect way to elude to the greater purpose of these memorials and life in general.
As is often depicted in good literature and media, from Narcissus’ admiration of himself in his reflection in the water to the “Lord of the Rings,” water is often used to create an atmosphere where we discover deeper meaning and hidden truths by gazing into it and inadvertently taking a closer examination of ourselves.
This spirit of reflection and self-examination is one of the most important lessons we should have learned from Sept. 11.
Although it may seem disrespectful to build on the land where so much innocent blood was spilled, we mustn’t dwell on the preservation of the destruction site, but begin anew while still paying respect to the incredible loss that occurred there.
This new construction is an important step in creating an effective and lasting memorial of Sept. 11. Without it, generations who where born after that eventful day may not appreciate its significance as much as those
who lived through it.
It is imperative that those who experienced the tragic loss firsthand are the ones who commemorate it and preserve the feelings and images in order to share them with Americans in the future.