I saw the attack on the Twin Towers on TV, while we were in a staff meeting at the Destin Log (we always kept the news channel on). My first thought, when I realized how bad it was, was that I wished the Justice League were real.
Think about it. Green Lantern props up the towers. Superman, Flash and Wonder Woman get the occupants out at super-speed. J’Onn J’Onzz does a telepathic scan for more attacks, which might enable the League to avert some more deaths.
Yes, I know, I’m a comics geek, though not the only one to have that feeling on 9/11. But those thoughts tapped into why I’ve always loved super-heroes. The idea that no matter how bad it gets, someone will keep fighting. No matter how dire the situation, someone’s trying to save lives. No matter how horrifying the foe, there are people who will go to the mat to protect innocents.
It’s a fantasy, I know, but it’s a good fantasy.
And from that, we move on to a few other links on the day:
•A New York Times column on how much the Muslim world has come to resent or hate us.
•Historian Kevin Leman suggests that eventually, 9/11 commemorations will be as detached as events marking the Civil War.
•A round-up of right-wing blog posts shows that we’re not there yet.
If you like my blog …
September 11, 2011Remembering 9/11
Dear Prof. Chomsky,
Today is the tenth anniversary of September 11th. I remember being woken by a call from my mother. In a panic she screamed, “We have been attacked!” We watched the second plane crash together. It was horrendous. We didn’t know anyone who died that day, being a native Texan, New York seems so far away, but it devastated my mother and I. My entire city was in ‘shock and disbelief’, companies in downtown Houston released employees from work and evacuated office buildings, I didn’t go to school that day. When I did return to class, I asked my teacher how she was doing, she started crying.
It was days before I heard any laughter. I spent most of that time watching continuous news coverage, flipping the channel when the on-air personality began to irritate me. I was glad when SNL returned for their first show after the national tragedy. The country needed to hear a joke.
We also needed answers.
See full post at http://www.conversationwithnoam.com