The Politics of Art & Authenticity

On September 8th, 2012, I was lucky enough to join EHS group on a tour to the 9/11 memorial.
I thought it would be a good opportunity to offer condolences to the victims who died of the attack and their families.

When I was studying for AP psychology, I came across a line that stated, many Americans remember exactly what they were doing on the day of the 9/11 incident. I tried to remember what I was doing at that moment but I couldn’t remember anything specifically besides the fact that I was staring at the television, not able to believe the video footages in front of my eyes. Maybe it was because 9/11 occurred a week after my family and I had came back to Korea. But all I could think of was that I was at that very place , the world trade center, a month before it was attacked. In one sense, I was glad at least I was able to experience the place before the collapse. On the other hand, I could not help the thought that if it had occurred a month earlier, I would have been one of the innocent victims buried on the cold ground.

After a few minutes of train ride, our group arrived at the memorial. The security was very strict. After a long wait in the line and some walking, I saw the whole view of ground zero.

Unlike the day of the accident, the place was so quiet and peaceful. Maybe too serene. The only thing that reminded me of the day were the names that were engraved round the fountains and the tree that survived.

Maybe it’s best to provide a peaceful place where the innocent victims would rest in peace. Maybe. But somehow I could not shake off the thought that unless our generation puts effort to preserve the meaning of this place and annually pay a visit; this may become no more than a pretty park, obscuring our future generations from seeing what truly happened and understanding the terrifying experience we will never be able to forget in our lives.