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The World Trade Center Belongs to All of Us
by Carlos
March 5, 2004
Because of the latest story related to the World Trade Center I feel moved to write a column that is sure to make me unpopular. The families of the survivors of the 9/11 attack have for the most part received uncritical sympathy. It is now time for some criticism.
The story this week was about how some of these families vigorously object to President Bush's first campaign commercials. These ads show images of the World Trade Center and point to the President's record in fighting terrorism. Some people responded with outrage, accusing the President of exploiting the disaster for political advantage. "It's a slap in the face of the murders of 3,000 people," said one family activist.
The attacks of September 11 were the defining event of Bush's presidency. Mentioning them is not inappropriate. Bush did so in the kind of ad people say they want, one emphasizing his positive accomplishments rather than tearing down his opponent. But it seems that not only do Bush's critics want him not to attack the other candidate, they also don't want him to talk about his own record.
The group Families of September 11th Victims issued a statement saying that the use of images of the World Trade Center in campaign advertising would "misrepresent" many of the families and their loved ones. This arrogant position identifies the World Trade Center with the surviving families. The WTC does not "represent" them and it does not belong to them. It now belongs to all of us, and we are all entitled to express our feelings about it.
I live in New York City, barely more than a mile from Ground Zero. We were all deeply affected and traumatized by the event. It is time the victims' families stopped treating the World Trade Center as if it were their personal property.
Of course those who lost loved ones in the attacks suffered most of all. The hearts of all Americans went out to them. It could hardly have been otherwise. Losing a friend or a relative caught in such a disaster, visualizing their final moments, is pain almost beyond imagining. The families deserved our support, and were treated with generosity. They received considerable monetary compensation. They had a major say in the design of the new World Trade Center. Because of their demands, the footprints of the destroyed buildings - some of the most valuable real estate in the world, and a key part of New York City's economy - will not be built upon.
The government has treated these families with respect. Not all of them, however, have behaved respectably. Most victims of violent crime receive no compensation whatsoever. Yet for many of these families, the ample amounts they did receive were not enough. They pressed the government for more, even threatening legal action. Some even demanded compensation commensurate with what the person who died would have earned if she or he had survived. For World Trade Center families this would have been far more than most of the taxpayers who would have to support them could ever hope to see.
It is ironic, to say the least, that these same family activists are now accusing President Bush of exploiting the tragedy. Their own behavior has given credence to the stereotypes of greedy Americans held by our enemies, who found the catastrophe an occasion for rejoicing. The cynical use these family activists have made of the event has made me ashamed to call myself a New Yorker.
These family members often speak as if this tragedy happened only to them. It happened to all of us. I smelled the smoke of the Trade Center for weeks coming through my window. Many of us had nightmares or couldn't sleep at all. The attack on the Trade Center was not an attack on the families of the people who worked there. It was not merely an attack on New York City. It was an attack on the United States.
In our democracy people have a perfect right to vote against the President, and to kick him out of office if the majority so decides. But so does the President have the right to remind us of an event that has changed history and may well set the tone for the new millennium. He has the right to remind us of his response to that event, which has deprived the terrorists of their safe haven in Afghanistan. The real exploiters of this tragedy are those who would use their righteous anger as an excuse to stifle debate. It is they, not the President, who are acting contrary to the spirit of democracy and free speech.
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