tp73.xml
Title
tp73.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-02-28
TomPaine Story: Story
Facing History: The Now People and the Past
We are the Now People. The past has no hold over us. We are the land of progress eternal. The past is a nuisance to be destroyed or an object to be commercialized. "History is bunk," said one of our great capitalists, Henry Ford. Americans believe in fresh starts, in letting bygones be bygones. Millions come here to escape their pasts, to flee history and start over. The future is our stock in trade. When tragedy strikes, we look for "closure" so we can "move on." History is for academic weevils and their dusty tomes. Or so we thought. On September 11, 2001, the past caught up with us. When the dust settled, we found ourselves enmeshed in something we thought unimportant - history.
Yet we remain in a state of collective denial. We still do not know why 9/11 was allowed to happen. George W. Bush swore to the American people that Osama bin Laden would be captured or killed. One year later, bin Laden's whereabouts remain unknown. Instead, the hawks distract us with fantasies of assault on Iraq. Few object, for we haveindeed ""moved on."" Meanwhile, the President claims that his past business dealings are irrelevant to today's investigations of corporate fraud!
On September 11, 2001, the ""American Century"" came to a spectacular end. Fat and complacent, secure in its imagined superiority, America was totally unprepared for its reentry into history. Many speak of the United States as the hyperpower, a globalized Empire about to lead the world into a New Golden Age; a Pax Americana with liberty and McDonald's for all. Yet history is littered with the dust of vanished Empires. If we continue to ignore the past, the Now People will have no future.
We are the Now People. The past has no hold over us. We are the land of progress eternal. The past is a nuisance to be destroyed or an object to be commercialized. "History is bunk," said one of our great capitalists, Henry Ford. Americans believe in fresh starts, in letting bygones be bygones. Millions come here to escape their pasts, to flee history and start over. The future is our stock in trade. When tragedy strikes, we look for "closure" so we can "move on." History is for academic weevils and their dusty tomes. Or so we thought. On September 11, 2001, the past caught up with us. When the dust settled, we found ourselves enmeshed in something we thought unimportant - history.
Yet we remain in a state of collective denial. We still do not know why 9/11 was allowed to happen. George W. Bush swore to the American people that Osama bin Laden would be captured or killed. One year later, bin Laden's whereabouts remain unknown. Instead, the hawks distract us with fantasies of assault on Iraq. Few object, for we haveindeed ""moved on."" Meanwhile, the President claims that his past business dealings are irrelevant to today's investigations of corporate fraud!
On September 11, 2001, the ""American Century"" came to a spectacular end. Fat and complacent, secure in its imagined superiority, America was totally unprepared for its reentry into history. Many speak of the United States as the hyperpower, a globalized Empire about to lead the world into a New Golden Age; a Pax Americana with liberty and McDonald's for all. Yet history is littered with the dust of vanished Empires. If we continue to ignore the past, the Now People will have no future.
Collection
Citation
“tp73.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 23, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/638.