PressEthic

Like many, I woke up to the fifth anniversary of September 11th with the kind of restlessness that could only be attributed to a fear of inevitable numbness. I hadn’t quite decided whether or not the seemingly endless parade of black-and white Twin Tower photos, “We Will Never Forget”-posters and FDNY t-shirts was a sign of overexposure or of the fact that we, as a nation, were still struggling with finding our voice in the face of tragedy.

It often seems as if the more sharply our post-9/11 political division deepens, the more politely we are publicly approaching the event itself. Even many artists and filmmakers have chosen to silence their politics when it has come to tackling arguably the most significant event in modern American history. In face of such a sensitive event as the 9/11 anniversary, I expected the news media to follow suit and maintain a polite distance.

Upon noticing that the New York Times had dedicated its lengthy Region Special to the much-debated Ground Zero memorial, I at first reacted with very little interest. Talks of the new ‘Freedom Tower’ have only increased my frustration at a national sentiment that has expected us to violently flaunt our hurt and mourning rather than allowing grief its own, more silent space. Thankfully I managed to set my prejudices to the side and open the supplemental section two days later.

Because I am assuming many to share in my initial thoughts, I also encourage those who have not yet gotten a chance to take a look at the section, titled ‘The Hole in the City’s Heart’ (written by Deborah Sontag). In her article of intimidating length and detail, she documents the long, tedious battle over the graveyard of Ground Zero and, in process, gives us an authentic look at a nation in mourning.

In all honesty, the events described in the piece were too convoluted to be breezed through over a morning coffee. As someone not familiar with real estate or property rights, I found it hard to keep track of the talking heads and their respective roles in the lengthy dispute. Like most good pieces of journalism, however, ‘The Hole in the City’s Heart’ left me with a greater realization about the manner in which our national mourning is becoming realized. Just as the destruction of the World Trade Center had an impact infinitely greater than the demolishing of two skyscrapers, the post-traumatic stress on the site itself reflects a national sentiment with implications far greater than the planning of a war memorial. To our benefit, The New York Times took this thought to heart in their commemorative topic of choice.

Sontag shows many big players of the memorial planning process motivated by personal grief, and others caught in a struggle between bureaucracy, their own visions, and an immense moral responsibility. Any single design seems unfit, any one leader unworthy of trust. 'A Hole in the City's Heart' shows that the battle for Ground Zero’s future is one directly rooted in individuals, and the core of our country’s trauma is not far from it either.

By focusing on the physical cite of the event in its September 11th special issue, The New York Times brought America’s sentiments of the past five years back to their origins and flushed out the anger and conflict that often accompanies grief. It is ultimately no surprise that by narrowing our focus, we usually become more able to see the big picture.

A Hole in the City's Heart