Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource TomPaine.com Stories Description An account of the resource TomPaine.com -- a liberal advocacy organization -- distributed a public call on August 12, 2002 for 300 word "opinion advertisement" similar to those that the organization had been running regularly in the op-ed page of The New York Times. TomPaine.com received hundreds of submissions from the public, most of which the September 11 Digital Archive has preserved here. TomPaine Story 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. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource tp73.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-02-28