tp163.xml
Title
tp163.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-03-03
TomPaine Story: Story
Agenda Interrupted"
"9-1-1, nine eleven, 9/11
We all looked at the same event. A tragic event to most of us. We all felt
lifes tedious movement come to a jarring halt on a beautiful September
morning in 2001.
And we all saw desperation, panic, and ultimately a paralyzing shock wave
move across an entire nation and the globe. Business ceased, meetings ended
abruptly, meetings started abruptly, and brave souls bounded into the fire
and smoke determined to change the day. Hundreds were lost so thousands
could be saved and few of the rescued would ever meet or know their
rescuers.
It may have been the worst day in New York but it may have been a new day
for many of us. For months the inane, insufferable bickering of our leaders
was toned down to a whisper.
Petty grievances and tests of will be damned on a day like this. Arguments
over sizes of everybody elses slice of the pie held no weight. Every class
and every station was viciously assaulted. If we never forget we can take
two roads, one to common good and one back to the days of pettiness and
resentment. The airwaves are replete with the hollow sounds of hate and
resentment these days and it is all the more sad since we have known so
recently the ecstasy and comfort of brotherhood and selflessness.
United shall we be as targets of zealots and fanatics, and united to support
and provide safety to our neighbors unknown for the common good. There is a
common priority in all societies and we are now going to have to reset ours.
To which road will tomorrows headline take us?
"9-1-1, nine eleven, 9/11
We all looked at the same event. A tragic event to most of us. We all felt
lifes tedious movement come to a jarring halt on a beautiful September
morning in 2001.
And we all saw desperation, panic, and ultimately a paralyzing shock wave
move across an entire nation and the globe. Business ceased, meetings ended
abruptly, meetings started abruptly, and brave souls bounded into the fire
and smoke determined to change the day. Hundreds were lost so thousands
could be saved and few of the rescued would ever meet or know their
rescuers.
It may have been the worst day in New York but it may have been a new day
for many of us. For months the inane, insufferable bickering of our leaders
was toned down to a whisper.
Petty grievances and tests of will be damned on a day like this. Arguments
over sizes of everybody elses slice of the pie held no weight. Every class
and every station was viciously assaulted. If we never forget we can take
two roads, one to common good and one back to the days of pettiness and
resentment. The airwaves are replete with the hollow sounds of hate and
resentment these days and it is all the more sad since we have known so
recently the ecstasy and comfort of brotherhood and selflessness.
United shall we be as targets of zealots and fanatics, and united to support
and provide safety to our neighbors unknown for the common good. There is a
common priority in all societies and we are now going to have to reset ours.
To which road will tomorrows headline take us?
Collection
Citation
“tp163.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed November 26, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/608.