Much reflection today on the third anniversary of 9/11.
I'll spare you the "I Remember Where I Was On September 11th" anecdotes -- we've all got them and the blogosphere's going to full of them today.
Instead, I'll direct you towards the piece broadcast this morning on Radio 4's "From Our Own Correspondent" programme by my colleague Stephen Evans.
Steve, British readers may remember, was in the lobby of the South Tower when the first airliner hit.
The award-winning journalism he produced in the hours and days ahead was outstanding -- and his reflections three years on are equally powerful.
Coincidentally, there's a piece on the Iraqi murdered in Swansea that Steve refers to in today's Guardian.
I'll spare you the "I Remember Where I Was On September 11th" anecdotes -- we've all got them and the blogosphere's going to full of them today.
Instead, I'll direct you towards the piece broadcast this morning on Radio 4's "From Our Own Correspondent" programme by my colleague Stephen Evans.
Steve, British readers may remember, was in the lobby of the South Tower when the first airliner hit.
The award-winning journalism he produced in the hours and days ahead was outstanding -- and his reflections three years on are equally powerful.
Coincidentally, there's a piece on the Iraqi murdered in Swansea that Steve refers to in today's Guardian.
posted by Stuart at 16:08
1 Comments:
Stirring stuff. But as usual the perspective is missing. The fear people feel is partly the result of outrageous and shameless exploitation by certain groups. 9-11 families, for instance, have given their support to a Milwaukee school's curriculum for International Studies, which includes a look at some possible motivations terrorists may have:
"Though he doesn't “blame America” for the attacks, Peterson says, even children “can be encouraged to ask deep questions” about the causes of terrorism.
Opponents say that runs the risk of creating empathy for terrorists. Teachers must ensure “that students aren't taking away an overly simplistic view of why terrorism happens,” says Kathleen Porter-Magee of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a think tank that has pushed for more rigorous history curricula. Though students might understand its causes, she says, terrorism is irrational.
But saying the perpetrators were simply evil or insane is terrifying, says Families of September 11 president Mary Ellen Salamone, whose husband died in the World Trade Center. “I don't think it's helpful for children to think this … happened for no reason.”
Sept. 11 “is being taught in school — we need to step up to the plate and make sure it isn't terrorizing children.”
Schools don't even need to remind students of the trauma of that day, says David Mednicoff, a professor at the University of Massachusetts. “Students hold on to their feelings from this, as do we.”
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