9/11 – a day that New Yorkers who were old enough to remember it, will always remember when and where they were for the rest of their lives. I was in my third grade class and suddenly, my classroom was receiving multiple calls and the kids were being taken home. I didn’t know why everybody was being picked up, and thought why wasn’t I being picked up, but other than that, I didn’t really think too much of that until I came home and saw all the planes crashing into the towers and the buildings falling. I will admit, even until this semester, I was indifferent towards these events, mainly because it did not affect me directly and because nobody I knew died, but for many others–about 3,000 others, their associations with 9/11 were very different.
In the larger scheme of things, the tragic events that took place on 9/11 did not have a lasting impact on peoples perceptions of New York, but it did have an impact for the a few years following the attacks. Today, if you were to ask a foreigner from another country, or even another state, “What do you think of New York?” I’m sure the first answer they give wouldn’t have any relation to the burning towers as long as they didn’t know anybody who died that day, which most, fortunately do not. Although we may never forget these events, New Yorkers have learned to move on and take steps towards the healing process. One of these steps that we have taken is the building of the 9/11 memorial and the reflecting pools, it is a place where we can reflect on the past, and heal from it. The new towers that are being built as a replacement, are being called the “Freedom Towers” which will be a symbol of freedom in New York.
New Yorkers have a special bond when it comes to 9/11. It is a special experience that we all share together; we have experienced first hand the devastation of 9/11. People from other parts of the country and world have a way less meaningful association with 9/11 because you have to be here, in New York, to truly understand the impact that 9/11 has had. Somebody from Flat, Alaska undoubtedly has a different understand of the events that took place on that day from somebody who was in New York at the time.
In this day age, the media, and artists are always trying to capture these events, and cement them into our memories forever. While there are movies, pictures, paintings that all try to depict what happened, it is impossible to accurately do so, without actually being in New York at the time. These forms of art only add to what we know about 9/11, but it doesn’t give us the foundation that can only be given by actually experiencing the event. The Mercy Seat, is the fictional account of a couple who wants to take advantage of this devastating day, to elope from their families. Even though I think this play does speak to the altitude and havoc that this event brought, to me, it just seems totally unrealistic. I don’t think that after this, any sane—or even insane human being would try to take advantage of this and run away from their families, making them think that they are dead. The 9/11 peace story quilt on display at the Metropolitan Museum also makes another attempt at portraying the traumatic events and it definitely does have meaning to a lot of people, but again, only to those people who were old enough to remember. Children growing up now will not care about the art depicted because they don’t remember anything that happened that day but they will still know that it happened, which is actually a good thing. Because of these events, the nation has become united and stronger.
