|
|
|
September 04, 2007
"when is enough enough?"
Actually, I'm having a hell of a time finding what I guess has to be called a news report with that headline. It's on page two of the Philadelphia Inquirer, but (surprise!) it does not appear at the Inquirer's web site, but it carries the New York Times byline. So why can't I find "When is enough enough?" In despair, I googled the first sentence of the story -- "Again it comes, for the sixth time now, falling for the first time on a Tuesday, the same day of the week." Sure enough, that made the story appear. Not in the Inky (which for contractual reasons is probably allowed to run the Times stories in print but not on its website), but in the Times (and others). Only, the Inquirer has changed the headline from the original, "As 9/11 Draws Near, a Debate Rises: How Much Tribute Is Enough?" Here's the second sentence: Again there will be the public tributes, the tightly scripted memorial events, the reflex news coverage, the souvenir peddlers.And the third, which combines another rhetorical question with repetition: Is all of it necessary, at the same decibel level -- still?And we finally come to the real issue. Americans are suffering, not from being at war, but from a thing called "9/11 fatigue." It's "annoying." Each year, murmuring about Sept. 11 fatigue arises, a weariness of reliving a day that everyone wishes had never happened. It began before the first anniversary of the terrorist attack. By now, though, many people feel that the collective commemorations, publicly staged, are excessive and vacant, even annoying.Grieving? Is that all it's about? Why a nurse? This was an act of war, wasn't it? 9/11 is said to be "complicated" by "contours" -- especially because presidential candidates still refer to it: Sept. 11, of course, remains complicated by its unfinished contours -- continuing worry over terrorism, the war in Iraq, a presidential race in which candidates repeatedly invoke the day and its portents. Episodes like the fire at the vacant Deutsche Bank building stir up haunting memories. Books rooted in the attack continue to arrive.It's nice to know that terrorism has been reduced to a mere "worry." And the only reason the word "war" comes up is because we're still in Bush's silly war in Iraq. Why, if only we got rid of that, we'd be able to forget about everything, and relegate 9/11 to the status of a tornado or a bridge collapse: Some people are troubled by what they see as others' taking advantage of the event. "Six years later, we can see that a lot of people have used 9/11 for some gain," said Matt Brosseau, 27, of Westfield, N.J. He sees the public tributes as "crassly corporatized and co-opted by false patriots."I think these folks have touched on what may be the chief concern -- that regardless of whether enough is enough this year, we've simply got to establish for once and for all that enough will be enough in advance of next year. 9/11/08 is just too close to the election. You just can't have people thinking along the lines of "we will remember in November." Or am I being unfair to the Times? Shouldn't I be giving them the benefit of the doubt here? Maybe they think it's a pain in the ass to dwell on what they consider old news year after year, so they're churning the waters a little in an attempt to get people to think. But asking solid rhetorical questions like "How Much Is Enough?" and by announcing that there's a "debate" based on a few quotes, might they be trying to "encourage critical thinking"? Why is it that the Times just can't seem to get enough of Lady Di? And why no articles asking when enough is enough? Might it be that the issue is not so much when enough is enough, but when the Times says it's enough?
Mental health practitioners see a certain value in the growing fatigue.Of course, Dr. Figley is only talking about the 9/11 civilian victims who died in in the most horrific enemy attack ever inflicted on American soil -- by an enemy with whom we're still at war. (As opposed to Lady Di.) Obviously, Americans can't be expected to get over everything. I can't help noting parenthetically that Dr. Figley is an expert on "Compassion Fatigue" and he has authored a book titled "Compassion Fatigue in the Animal-Care Community." I haven't read the book, so I'm sure I'm oversimplifying, but I hope he assigns at least as much value to 9/11 fatigue as he does to the fatigue of animal care workers. Certainly, there's no denying that there is such a thing as "compassion fatigue" in rescue workers and trauma specialists. But is that the same thing as the anger experienced by Americans who saw their country attacked on 9/11? Sure, there was plenty of compassion for the victims, but wasn't there more than that? What about the desire to make sure that 9/11 never happens again? What about defeating the people who did it, so that they cannot do it again? Compassion for the victims, while certainly a factor, is hardly dispositive. In this respect, the Times' focus on "compassion" is seriously misplaced. There may be "fatigue" in the minds of those the Times quotes, but I don't think it's compassion related. We're in a war, right? Yeah, I keep asking. Is there such a syndrome as "War Denial Fatigue"? Or would it be Pacifist Fatigue? Well, what would you call the condition of being sick of pacifists who refuse to accept that their country was attacked and that the enemy has not yet been defeated? I'm being sarcastic, of course, as I don't believe in any such "disease." The problem is, the people I'm sick of would probably diagnose me as sick. (So perhaps the best defensive diagnosis is an offensive diagnosis.) UPDATE: Via Glenn Reynolds, Michelle Malkin has a picture which I think goes to the heart of the fatigue debate:
Description: The photo of the morning comes from reader John M., who e-mailed: "I am sending you a picture of graffiti that was photographed in Sacramento California on the I 80 on-ramp heading east to Reno. It first read "Stop the War." Someone did what I wanted to do and crossed out the stop and added 'Win' in front."Depends on whose fatigue is more indefatigable! UPDATE: My thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the link and a warm welcome to all. Comments always appreciated. posted by Eric on 09.04.07 at 09:11 AM
Comments
Interesting that many people can only conceive of this in terms of grief and tragedy, not commemoration. It seems rather a failure of emotional depth. Assistant Village Idiot · September 5, 2007 09:00 AM I think you've hit it on the head, what with your repeated asking of the question "We're in a war, right?" Because for some segment of the population, the answer to that is no. And that segment of the population is tired of the cognitive dissonance that the 9/11 commemorations cause them. By reminding them that what happened on 9/11 is different than what happened in Minneapolis, or even in Louisiana, they are forced to contemplate that maybe we were attacked and we need to defend ourselves. brian · September 5, 2007 09:11 AM Speaking of fatigue, when are we getting over the Pearl Harbor thing? I swear they've been going on about that for as long as I can remember. RPD · September 5, 2007 09:18 AM Thanks NYT! Now I guess we can tell New Orleans to "get over it", eh? Shallow bunch of... Major John · September 5, 2007 09:22 AM AVI, Eric, and all:
Kevin R.C. 'Hognose' O'Brien · September 5, 2007 09:23 AM Can't "get over it." Sorry. Still angry. I didn't know anybody who died on the planes, were burned to death, jumped, or were crushed in the collapses, but I want them avenged. I guess I'm just some kind of yahoo. Tom W. · September 5, 2007 10:05 AM I don't read the Times anymore, but I have a question. Veeshir · September 5, 2007 10:18 AM Matt Brosseau of Westfield, NJ calls himself an “Ultra-liberal transplant to Jersey from Vermont, where I worked on Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch's campaigns in 2006, and Dr. Dean's in 2000.” Enlighten-NewJersey · September 5, 2007 10:30 AM "I didn't know anybody who died on the planes, were burned to death, jumped, or were crushed in the collapses, but I want them avenged. I guess I'm just some kind of yahoo." According to the NYT, yes. To the rest of the sane world, not so much. Dark Jethro · September 5, 2007 10:50 AM Perhaps a better headline for the NYT story would be "Shhh...go back to sleep". Dave E. · September 5, 2007 11:29 AM Am I the only one that noticed that the NEW YORK Times had to go to Mass. and New Jersey to get its quotes about how we need to "get over it"? Phelps · September 5, 2007 11:46 AM Faugh. Never forget. Peregrine John · September 5, 2007 12:17 PM an event much older and arguably less important than 9/11 Arguably? Shelby · September 5, 2007 12:18 PM Whenever I see a "Peace is Patriotic" sign, I mentally replace it with "Victory is Patriotic". I feel much better. Paul · September 5, 2007 01:11 PM I have been fatigued of Bill Maher forever, yet every time I turn on HBO looking for a movie, there his mug is. Didn't Bushitler McHaliburton have him dissappeared or something? moptop · September 5, 2007 01:53 PM My definition of "false patriot" is somebody who doesn't believe that defense of his fellow countrymen is justified. moptop · September 5, 2007 01:59 PM I live in NYC and worked on Wall St for many years. I also live in Queens where many of the firemen who worked so hard to save people are from. I remember for at least a year photos and notices on light poles and sign posts asking if anyone has seen or heard or has any information about this or that loved one. I remember all the firehouses with pots of flowers and commemorative candles out in front.My best friend's son had just left his job in the WTC and the whole staff he supervised died in the WTC - 50 people. I used to change subways under the WTC every morning and that particular morning I had to stop on the way to pick up batteries for my hearing aids or I would have been under the WTC about the time of the crash. I cannot forget or forgive what happened that day. It is not too much to think that the events of our being attacked are worthy of remembering and trying ensure that it does not happen again. I will also not forget that my junior senator (**spit**) Saint Hillary was the only member of the New York delegation to the senate and house who could not be bothered to make time to see the police and firemen when they came to testify in DC a month later. Saint Hillary was too busy finishing her book to see them. Even Chuckie the schmuck made time. I used to take a bus going home that would go past the WTC hole in the ground. The sight still hurts. I remember my next door neighbor who was a heavy equipment construction worker and spent 2 weeks volunteering to run the scoops there while they were looking for bodies and possible survivors. He worked 18 hours a day doing that, came home, showered, slept, and then went back to do it all over again. Where do these people get off on saying that it should not be honored even now. What kind of world do they inhabit that this does not matter. dick · September 6, 2007 12:56 AM Post a comment
You may use basic HTML for formatting.
|
|
September 2007
WORLD-WIDE CALENDAR
Search the Site
E-mail
Classics To Go
Archives
September 2007
August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 May 2002 AB 1634 See more archives here Old (Blogspot) archives
Recent Entries
• morality shifts, but is it rational?
• Jena - Searching For Facts • Michael Totten On The Anbar Awakening • Coco and the little green donut ball • Support for the Second Amendment? In Philadelphia? • Fred Hochberg and Norman Hsu - Joined At Birth? • Moral issues and economic solutions • From taboo topic to treatable illness, in my lifetime • Orthodoxy • Ropes, journalists, terrorist DNA... And Random Justice for all!
Links
Site Credits
|
|
It would have been better graffiti to just add "by winning" to the end - easier to read, what with having no ineffective crossing out.