Student editorial blasts 'obsession' with memorializing 9/11
The editorial board of the student newspaper at Pennsylvania State University-Behrend wants America to end its “obsession” with 9/11, asking in exasperation, “Will we never forget?”
The Behrend Beacon published an editorial on September 12 claiming that “the general consensus in the Beacon newsroom is that the U.S. needs to remember September 11, but that our society’s obsession with the day needs to fade.”
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Observing that “the majority of us have little to no memories of that day,” but have grown up with the consequences in the form of “increased airport security, the PATRIOT Act, [and] hatred towards people that look anything remotely like the terrorists,” the editors go on to point out that “there are plenty of other things in other countries that were a result of the terrorist attack.”
“The Bush Administration was able to use the September 11 attack to launch the War on Terror, also known as the Global War on Terrorism,” the editorial states, remarking that while “the World Trade Center collapse has affected many people in the U.S.,” it is “fair to say that many more people have been negatively impacted in the Middle East because of the U.S.’s harsh attitude after 9/11.”
The editorial board then critiques the use of the word “war” because “it gives the impression that there is something that can be beat [sic],” declaring that “The thing that caused 9/11 is not a specific thing that can be beat [sic] because it is an anti-American ideology. Ideologies cannot be ‘beat’ [sic].”
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“Yes, 9/11 was a devastating event, but there are disastrous thing that happen in other countries on a daily basis of greater magnitude,” the editors write, adding that “the size of the event should not necessarily be the only factor that makes it more important, but comparatively 9/11 affected relatively few people.”
The editorial concludes by acknowledging that 9/11 was “important,” but must be viewed in the context of “bigger issues” taking place globally, saying, “No one who experienced 9/11, whether directly or indirectly, will forget that day, but it is time to additionally face the problems that have come as a product.”
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