I went out Wednesday morning and noticed the bright, blue sky overhead, looking much like that depicted in the infamous photographs taken just before the terror struck exactly one year earlier. A cool breeze rippled through my clothing and I noticed couples sitting by the Frog Baby fountain or reading on lawn in front of the Architecture Building. It all seemed perfectly normal and for that, I was most grateful.
With a hideous roar, two of mankind's proudest creations came tumbling down last September. A small group of hijackers had managed to do what even history's most powerful armies had not, striking at the core of our financial center and ripping into our most important military fortress.
That was the day when everything was supposed to change.
But, what's amazing is how much has remained the same.
We all went shopping. In the fall, Rachel had her baby on "Friends," Michael Jordan made a return to the NBA, and Harry Potter worked his magic on the big screen.
When Pearl Harbor was bombed Dec. 7, 1941, America cranked up the munitions factories, rescuing the country from it's worst economic depression. Legions of men marched across the fields of Europe and islands of the Pacific, while millions of women forged the guns and welded the ships for them to do battle. It was considered unpatriotic to travel far from home, for fear of wasting precious gasoline and rubber. With few consumer goods to lavish themselves with, Americans saved their money.
After Sept. 11, we were advised not only to go on with business as usual, but also to travel and spend more money than usual. It was our patriotic duty to buy that new Chevy and visit Times Square.
Munitions workers didn't swing into action, but the marketing machine was more than happy to oblige. Retailers brought us a variety of goods in red, white and blue to heal our pain. It was natural for people to want to buy American flags to hang from their porch. But was there really a need for red, white and blue corn chips and American flag Kleenex? One would think that wiping your nose on the stars and stripes would be disrespectful.
On the streets of New York, vendors peddle photographs of the twin towers in flames alongside images of the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. For $12 you can have your very own framed picture of a pile of rubble.
Even crass commercialism persists. We can often be shallow, but at least we retain that luxury.
Unless you're in the military or work in an airport, very little has changed in our daily routines. But the dusty, windswept pit in lower Manhattan remains a scar on our nation. Fortunately we have not let it fester.
Let them raise some beautiful monument, not just soul-less columns of offices and retail space, but a place where couples can set out their picnic blankets and let kids play. A place where the survivors can visit in their old age and enjoy the tranquility they once took for granted.
Write to Robert at rlopez@bsu.edu
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