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 Crossroad or Crosshairs? Great nations exert great influence on their times. The zeitgeist sweeping the world today is a maelstrom of anger, selfishness, suspicion, militancy, and retribution. Such a zeitgeist breeds rhetoric, not truth, cunning, not compassion, hypocrisy and self-interest, not deep moral intent. On September 11, 2001, the flames of this zeitgeist, which the United States has helped fuel, brought down the greatest towers in the world. Never doubt the power of the zeitgeist. A siren of destruction or a messenger of joy, it infiltrates everything from government policies to childrens dreams. Pointing to our complicity in the zeitgeist does not imply that we deserved September 11. No citizens anywhere deserve slaughter. Nevertheless, now the greatness of the United States faces its most critical test. We can stoke the zeitgeist with our awesome firepower, intensifying a worldview in which the strongest make the rules, vengeance comes before understanding, and only the vanquished are forgiven. A world in which fighting, rather than peaceful initiatives, defines courage. It would disconcert Christ to watch our leaders, who profess such allegiance to Christianity, violate and twist its fundamental precepts. Al-Queda may ultimately prove less of an enemy to America than those Americans who allow themselves to be swept into the updraft of such a zeitgeist. The true quality of our greatnessóour commitment to our might or our commitment to the world--will determine how we choose to effect the zeitgeist. We can fuel a zeitgeist that renders the next Mandela, King or Gandhi irrelevant and impotent, or we can begin to change it. No nation, even the greatest, endures forever, and so what matters most is the legacy we ultimately leave behind. History will judge us long after we can do anything to affect that judgment. There really is only one courageous and noble choice. 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 tp88.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