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 Last week we asked you to send us your thoughts and responses to the September 11 anniversary. Among the responses we received were a letter Paul Frasnelli had published in his local New Jersey newspaper, several people who expressed concern about the politicization of the anniversary, and others who held local events to mark the occasion.
"In many ways, we are still living in a world defined by (9/11) and our government's reaction. Our leaders chose to respond with retribution and preemptive violence, and the predictable result has been that our country appears to be locked into a "war on terrorism" without end.
The United States needs to reengage with the rest of the world. A good place to start would be for the next Congress and president to pay the $1.2 billion that the United States owes to the United Nations to fund peacekeeping efforts and efforts to prevent wars and deadly conflicts."
- Paul Frasnelli, Vineland NJ
(From a letter to the editor published in The Daily Journal on 9/11/08)
"I'm so tired of the politicization of September 11. My wife and I are planning to go to the Seattle Art Museum, see a show of Impressionist painting, then have dinner in their wonderful restaurant, Taste. We will do everything we can to avoid the hype and the hypocrisy of the Republican political machine in using the deaths of thousands of Americans to support robbing the poor to feed the rich."
- Bob Blumenthal Seattle, WA
"This September 11, my husband and I will be honoring the life of our friend Noel J. Foster, who died in the collapse of the second tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001…When we were students at Moravian, Noel J. was part of a small group of "lefties" on campus (which included me) in the late 70's and early 80's, who talked about waging peace instead of war, and challenging the status quo, not only on campus, but in the bigger picture as well …I have always believed that Noel J. would have been appalled with the Bush Administration war which was waged in his name under the false pretenses of avenging the events of 9/11, and had he survived, would have fought to stop the hate mongering and violence which have characterized these past seven years."
- Mary Bender
"I will be at work like I was in 2001. I will not participate in any activities to mark this day. I refuse to see this tragedy marketed as a political football."
-Vicki
"Every September 11 since the first remembrance on September 11, 2002, we have tolled the bell in our bell tower to remember the times when planes hit the towers, the Pentagon, and the field in PA where the plane went down. We'll do so again this September 11."
- Pastor Schreiber, Atonement Lutheran Church, Saugerties, NY
"For national security, we need a healthy populace. Investing in military hardware and military systems robs us of the funds required for our health care needs, weakens our people, and increases our vulnerability to attacks by corporations and hostile nations."
-Diane J. Peterson, White Bear Lake, MN
"…I show photos of the WTC and Pentagon sites, and then present a brief argument in strict logical form about whether "the world changed" and America significantly suffered on that day. Then I ask students to evaluate the argument according to concepts they're learning in the course…We also talk about how extreme emotion can cloud our reason, and how logic is one tool to help counteract that.
The point isn't to say that we should be unfeeling automatons, nor that the US must always understand, much less forgive, terrorists and their sponsors. Rather, we must feel AND think, use evidence to draw our conclusions instead of jumping to them, and be prepared to reevaluate our own actions and moral principles."
- Eugene V. Torisky, Latrobe PA
"(9/11)...is also the anniversary of the founding of nonviolent direct action as we know it today - the launch of Gandhi's Satyagraha against apartheid in South Africa. This year… I am engaged in two meaningful proactive projects - one personal and one global - neither of which has anything to do with the so-called War on Terror but both of which have the potential to contribute to the building of a Culture of Peace."
-Susan Livingston, VA
Reviewed:
09/16/2008
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