Are We Blasé About 9/11?

How well do we remember the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001? According to our latest Feedback poll, that really depends on how you define the word remember. It seems that while the nation can recall the event, the passion and the patriotic fervor that greeted the early days after the attacks are gone. In fact, roughly 60% of our respondents state emphatically that the nation is blasé about the attacks. Steve Siegel, never one to check a swing, is equally emphatic and totally supports our readers' views.

"Shortly after the initial national wave of patriotism that engulfed us post-9/11--and it was significant and heartfelt--there was this sense that it was a New York problem. It was almost a disavowing of the event as it relates to an attack on America.

"A lot of this was politically driven, when substantial dollars were suggested to be allocated to New York for rebuilding in Congress. The reaction from Congress and Senate was a sense that if they did this it may mean dollars that they might lose for other things that were important to them. Surely and quickly--not slowly and surely--it became New York's problem and no longer a US problem.

"It did help spur patriotism to a point when the retaliation was initiated by our government, and it was well received early on. Well, that's eroded as well. Not to espouse my political views, but people are wrong. There is a war on now, a war unlike we've ever seen, and there is a terrorist faction in this world that will not go away. It's sad that that sense of resolve and unity could not be maintained."