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WHAT WILL THE WORDS “SEPTEMBER11” INSPIRE IN US NOW?© Pulitzer Publishing Company Sep 10, 2003

LAST YEAR AT this time we could feel the approach of Sept. 11in the pit of our souls.

What a difference a year makes.

What a difference a war makes.

How will we, as a nation, feel tomorrow? Will we remember?

Or have we been led so far from where we started – from theshock of tumbling skyscrapers to the chaotic, $1-billion-a-weekrepair of an increasingly hostile Iraq – that we can’t get back?

Last year, the simple words “Let’s roll” made tears well in theeyes of grown men and fury rise in kindly women. Vietnam Warprotesters draped their homes in flags. Time magazine declaredthat the soccer mom had become security mom, a key swingvoter suddenly seeking kick-butt toughness in her president.

It was never quite clear what to do on Sept. 11, so the collectivegrief of millions was expressed in uniquely personal ways.Thousands of children spelled “Aloha 9/11” on a stadium field.Bells rang in Alaska, and porch lights shone in Kansas. Fire truckhorns were blown in Waco, Texas.

In St. Louis, some gathered for an interfaith service at ForestPark, names of those killed were read aloud at St. LouisUniversity Law School, Montessori preschoolers played kazoosand made a handprint flag for firefighters.

Remember those heroes? Will we tomorrow?

Last year, there was lively debate about whether Sept. 11 shouldbe a national holiday. Instead, we all did exactly what we haddone – and the victims had done – that day. We went to work. Wewent to school. Had it been declared a holiday, how long would ithave been before Sept. 11 suffered the ultimate devaluation: theblowout department store sale? The buy-two-get-one-free under-garment extravaganza?

On July 4, do you discuss the Declaration of Independence beforeor after fireworks?

On Sept. 11, 2002, at the wheel of the same car where I hadheard the news unfold, passing flags in front yards, I cried again.Reliving the rush of shock and heart-piercing love for our coun-try, unmatched in my lifetime, I remember feeling, THIS is a truenational holiday.

I don't know whether it will be the same tomorrow, for me, or foryou.

While the very words “September 11” loom still as the before-and- after divider of most of our lives, the reference has shed itsterror. It has become half of phrases such as “post-Sept. 11 secu-rity,” (Remember when Arab-looking males didn’t have to worryabout scaring people? Remember our privacy?), the “post-Sept.11 economy,” and in Women's Wear Daily, the fashion bible,“Sept.11 syndrome.” The last is defined as fewer people travelingand shopping Grand Cayman boutiques, two investment banks –Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns – among highbrow businessesreverting to a business formal-dress policy, ditching casual wearas “a reaction to Sept. 11 and dot-com fallout, while others claimthe suit never went out of style to begin with.” (On the brightside, I guess, sales of teen apparel continued to increase.)

Simply put, we are no longer stunned.

We're concerned – about our jobs. We’re irked – that we eithercannot afford to travel or have to spend many more hours at theairport to accomplish it. The color-coded terror-alert systeminspires more Martha Stewart jokes than “terror.” Duct tape hasmade its way to tail lights. We are fascinated by the fake fear ofreality TV again, our interest in burkas waning daily.

And we still don't have Osama bin Laden.

Maybe one thing we might do tomorrow is see whether we reallycan connect the dots between bin Laden and where we are spend-ing American passion, money and lives today. That’s what we doin this great and free country. We cherish it, and we question.

We cherish it, because we CAN question.

BETTY CUNIBERTI

Reprinted with permission of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Mo.: Sep 10, 2003, pg. E.1 http://STLtoday.com

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©2004 Star Tribune. Republished with permission of Star Tribune, Minneapolis-St. Paul. No further republication or redistribution is permitted without the written consent of Star Tribune.

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T-CHAR T – 9/11Directions: 1 Complete the following chart based on how you feel in a POST 9-11 country and world.2 After you read complete the bottom half of the chart -- based on the readings.

(COMPLETE THIS BEFORE READING THE ARTICLE)

How have things the USA changed since 9/11? How have things NOT changed in the USA since 9/11?

(AFTER READING THE ARTICLE)

How have things the USA changed since 9/11? How have things NOT changed in the USA since 9/11?

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1 Editorial CartoonExpress the change in your life in an editorial cartoon like the one welooked at the beginning of this lesson. Your cartoon should express an original or unexpected idea about remembering 9/11.

2 PoemWrite a poem or series of poems that includes information about howyour life and feelings have changed in the last three years. You choosethe poem’s format. This should be a polished work that you takethrough several drafts.

3 Ground Zero MemorialDraw a plan for a memorial at the site of the World Trade Center. Inwords, describe the symbols you used and the reasoning behind them.

4 National Holiday ProclamationPretend you’re the President, and you’ve decided to proclaimSeptember 11th as a national holiday. Write a radio address thatexplains why you’ve made this choice and what people should do to remember the day.

5 Op/Ed PieceUsing the article we read today as a model, write an editorial explainingthe change you see in our country and how you think people are orshould be acting and reacting to the changes.

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