9/11 remembrances
Today I got an email with the header "Reminder ** Commemoration of Patriot Day SUNDAY, September 11th." Not to be confused with Patriots Day, which commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord, "Patriot Day" is apparently the officially designated name for September 11th.
The email went on to say:
"Our citizens have been looking for a meaningful way to commemorate September
11, 2001, its victims, and our heroes in uniform who continue to serve.This September 11th, we are answering our citizens’ call-to-action by
hosting the inaugural America Supports You Freedom Walk, organized by the
Department of Defense and supported by Stars and Stripes newspaper."
I believe that commemorating the September 11th attacks and honoring those who serve America in the military are both highly worthy goals. But I’m intensely uncomfortable about combining both causes into a single event. I see this as part of the Administration’s attempt to blur the lines between the war in Iraq and the ongoing struggle against terrorism and to imply that Saddam Hussein was somehow responsible for the 9/11 attacks.
So, I wasn’t planning on participating in the "Freedom Walk" in any case, but my jaw dropped when I read in the Washington Post about the security measures being imposed:
"The march, sponsored by the Department of Defense, will wend its way from the Pentagon to the Mall along a route that has not been specified but will be lined with four-foot-high snow fencing to keep it closed and "sterile," said Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense.
The U.S. Park Police will have its entire Washington force of several hundred on duty and along the route, on foot, horseback and motorcycles and monitoring from above by helicopter. Officers are prepared to arrest anyone who joins the march or concert without a credential and refuses to leave, said Park Police Chief Dwight E. Pettiford."
The Post reports that the park police offered to screen people entering the Mall, as they do for the big Fourth of July concert and fireworks, but DoD said "We didn’t want a bottleneck at the concert." Somehow it works ok on the 4th, when hundreds of thousands of people come. What the heck are they so afraid of? Terrorists or anti-war protestors?
Instead, I’ll be participating in the DC Unity Walk, an interfaith walk from Washington Hebrew Congregation, to the Islamic Center, and the Gandhi memorial. The mission statement is:
"We walk together as neighbors from many faiths and cultures. We gather in
peace to demonstrate our unity, recalling the spirit of togetherness that
grew out of 9/11 and rejecting the paths of despair and revenge. We
commemorate this day because concern for each other’s welfare is the shared
hope of us all."
If anyone reading this is planning on going and wants to meet up, drop me an email. I’ll probably have N with me in the stroller. (D has a birthday party to attend.)
September 10th, 2005 at 9:18 pm
The Bush administration has always had a strong interest in controlling messages and enforcing loyalty; it’s one thing when those values are in place within a campaign or even the White House (although I objected to them there too) but completely another when that same kind of strict message control seeps into more public events. Yuck.
This post raises another question for me, which is what and how much people say to their preschool children about September 11. I turned on Reading Rainbow this morning so my daughter could watch TV while I took a shower. I didn’t recognize the book being read (turned out it was The Tin Forest, a good book about a lonely man making a forest with his dreams), but then the episode segued into a visit to an elementary school near the World Trade Center whose students had to relocate. The episode certainly was sensitive to kids but it raised hard questions. All of which went over my (3 year old) daughter’s head–she was mostly complaining that she couldn’t see Elmo in the TV–but it got me wondering what people say to kids who are so young. Maybe it’s like everything else–wait until she asks questions and just answer what she asks?
September 10th, 2005 at 10:28 pm
The DC Unity Walk sounds about my speed. If I was closer, I’d certainly join you. I’ll have to see if there’s something similar happening in SF. What am I saying? There must be.
Also, I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your entries. They’re so thoughtful and well-written. Thanks for your keen insight and commentary.
September 11th, 2005 at 9:11 am
Great post.
I just copied it in my blog.
Thanks.
September 12th, 2005 at 1:09 pm
Susan, my new DotMoms post is about talking to kids about tragedy. It’s at:
http://roughdraft.typepad.com/dotmoms/2005/09/mommies_always_.html
I haven’t talked to either of the boys about 9/11 yet. For them it will be history, rather than part of their lives. If they ask questions about it, I’ll answer them, but I’m not planning on bringing it up. It’s the current tragedies — the London bombings, Katrina — that I wrestle with how much information to offer.
September 13th, 2005 at 5:28 pm
I have that concern too, Elizabeth and Susan (and I’ll be sure to read your post, Elizabeth, thanks for the link).
I haven’t said anything to my 5-year-old about Sept. 11 yet. We thought maybe we should this year since he’s in kindergarten and they might mention it, but I was flying for a business trip on the 11th and 12th and didn’t want to give him any anxiety about planes.
I’ve told him some about Katrina and let him know about what we’re donating, that a jazz singer he likes lost his home, etc. But I haven’t let him watch the coverage or see it in the paper. It seems like way too much for a little guy who’s already sensitive to scary things that happen in real life.
September 13th, 2005 at 8:42 pm
Excellent post over at DotMoms, Elizabeth. Like you, we’ve kept the news off the television ever since my son was old enough to pay attention to the screen. He knew about Katrina because of my husband’s unfortunate addivtion to the Weather Channel, and that has been more than enough for him. Like Susan, I once turned on Reading Rainbow to find a September 11 book being featured. After about 30 seconds, my son looked troubled, and I rushed to turn it off.
Now that he is starting preschool, the outside world will not be so easily turned off, I fear.