June 14- Ground Zero

Visited Ground Zero for the first time today (well actually, I visited on the 15th, but this was fresh on my mind). Now, before I went to check it out with Jenna, I decided I should probably figure out how to get there once I step off the subway...in my search I came upon a blog post in which a woman in New York City shot off at some passerby who asked how to get to ground zero, saying something that really offended me...

It seemed as though this woman was mad at the passerby for asking how to get to the site. Her reason was not that it was a matter of disrespect or anything like that, it was this condescending mix of "you're not from around here, you must be an idiot" (something that anyone who doesn't live in NYC has felt at one time or another if you've been) and "how dare you try to mourn more than me, a NYC resident". Listen, this is why people go to these sites. No one goes to the Gettysburg battlefield to study grass growing patterns. No one goes to Arlington National Cemetery to play hide-and-seek. People go to sites in order to get a sense of the magnitude of what has happened in the past. For many, 9-11 is the first world tragedy within a reasonable traveling distance, and as such is a perfect opportunity to do some learning:

It's truly astounding to see such a gaping hole in downtown New York when the entire surrounding area is filled with skyscrapers that hurt your neck when you try to take in the magnitude of their size; to think that THE BIGGEST of those skyscrapers are the ones that fell is no small realization.

To see such a momentous event take place in one of the most heavily-populated cities IN THE WORLD gives onlookers a sense of the horrific reality of modern-day acts of war and terrorism. This is not meant to diminish those who have gone before us, but the Gettysburg battlefield is in the middle of nowhere (sorry readers from Gettysburg, but you are now "Nowhere, USA"); the World Trade Center, on the other hand, was sort of the focal point of the famed New York skyline.

As an American (or anyone with an interest in our country), I think it's only right to see what remains years later from the devastating events of that day. I can't fathom anyone telling me that I have no right to mourn. Fuck that noise. Listen, it's that sort of narrow-mindedness and selfishness that plagues our country. Tragedy has its benefits in unity; you rarely see petty squabbles come out of a tragic event, so embrace the fact that there are people interested in the lives of other Americans; no one's laughing at your misfortune if you were directly affected by 9-11...no one is mocking your pain and anguish.

I will end this article by saying that anywhere I've been in the world, my being American has ALWAYS been met with some comment or response along the lines of the tragedy on 9-11, and so I'm apt to think that if Americans were more well-versed and sympathetic, the world we live in- no matter how narrow- would be much-improved.