Don't let Sept. 11 become just another date on the calendar
Rescue personnel look for victims in the ruins of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Credit: Robert Mecea
This guest essay reflects the views of Jan Burman, chairman of B2K, a Jericho-based development company, who like many Long Islanders watched in disbelief on Sept. 11, 2001, as the World Trade Center towers collapsed.
As we get ready to observe another anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our nation, we are compelled to wonder whether it has become just another calendar date. That cannot be allowed to happen.
How do we ensure that 9/11 becomes a day when Americans actually pause and reflect on the heroism, sacrifice, and courage that remains the true legacy from that terrible day? How do we prevent it from fading into history, an event left untaught or given minimal class time, a fate now suffered by conflicts such as World War II, Korea, and Vietnam?
An entire generation of Americans has been born and raised since Sept. 11, 2001. It is unlikely they truly appreciate how the very best of our nation responded to those attacks. They may not know of the heroic first responders who ran toward the calamity that would claim their lives and thousands more. They won’t recognize the quiet grief that still fills New York City fire houses and police precincts or the handmade memorials that will never fade.
As one who understands the passage of time, I don't expect the current generation to fully appreciate the searing, bright September morning that brought death to so many. I don’t expect them to recall the ominous plume of smoke and ash from Ground Zero that drifted north over midtown. They won’t know how many times Long Islanders pulled over in the weeks after 9/11 to let yet another funeral procession pass. They won't know why I flinch just a little when I see a jetliner bank in a way that captures the fateful images of United Flight 175 about to hit the south tower. Or why I linger over the obituaries that record the passing of yet another first responder from "an illness related to their 9/11 exposure ..."
What I do expect, and what 2,977 New York souls demand, is that we stand in quiet reflection every Sept. 11 and remember those murdered by terrorists. We must fully understand the legacy of those who perished. Their deaths compelled us to stand as one, united in the face of terror, and rededicated to the principles of democracy and freedom.
A current proposal to make 9/11 a national day of reflection is an appropriate response to this imperative. It would allow each new generation to appreciate that the attacks require them to embrace diversity and reject the ideology of hate that fueled the carnage. It would lead us to recognize and honor those who suffer from 9/11-related illnesses; in the end, more people may die from the effects of 9/11 carcinogens than were killed that day. And it would demand that succeeding generations recognize the strength that comes from national unity in times of crisis, for our enemies never ask whether we are Republicans or Democrats.
New Yorkers would never permit the site of the World Trade Center to become a necropolis, a dark and sullen urban graveyard. Our region remains a vibrant, dynamic place where opportunity is still our business card and respect for all is in our soul. That is why we were targeted by the terrorists on 9/11. But as the Bible instructs, "There is a time to mourn," and New Yorkers must lead the nation in making 9/11 a shared day of reflection, mourning, and American unity.
This guest essay reflects the views of Jan Burman, chairman of B2K, a Jericho-based development company, who like many Long Islanders watched in disbelief on Sept. 11, 2001, as the World Trade Center towers collapsed.
