Those Who Do Not Study History - Reprise
Ever since the contest to design the new World Trade Center in New York was announced, I have been telling anyone who would listen that the best design would be to rebuild the towers exactly as they were before. And if some extremist managed to knock it down again, we should rebuild it exactly the same again.
I thought I was alone in this belief until a month or so ago when I saw that Donald Trump also suggested that we rebuild the towers. I don't really known what his reasons were, but here are mine.
While I appreciate the fact that the designers have taken to calling it "Freedom Tower" and the height will be 1776 ft, the problem will always remain that when people look at the structure, they will not think about the Glorious Cause, but will instead remember the tragic events that took place.
In my previous Those Who Do Not Study History post, I stated that terrorists act to draw attention to themselves and their causes. This remembrance of the events of 9/11 will only serve to encourage them to try again. We need to remove that possibility by waging psychological warfare right along with the physical war.
The best way to wage that war would be to restore the structure to the same facade it had before. The message that will be sent is clearly that we were not affected by those actions. And every time they knock it down, we'll put it back. These people do not act logically, and our response needs to reflect that.
The question will be asked as to what to do regarding the memorial. I have a very simple answer. Erect a monument in the lobby, encase the ground zero flag in Lucite and attach this quote from Daniel Webster: "Let [my] last feeble and lingering glance rather behold the glorious ensign of the republic, now known and honored throughout the earth, still full high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in the original lustre, not a stripe erased or polluted, nor a single star obscured, bearing for its motto...spread over all the characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, -- Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!"
A more eloquent or fitting tribute to the principles this country stands for has never been spoken. We can send no more powerful message to the world than one that says our resolve is undeterred, our will is unbroken, and freedom will live on as long as we have breath in our bodies.
I thought I was alone in this belief until a month or so ago when I saw that Donald Trump also suggested that we rebuild the towers. I don't really known what his reasons were, but here are mine.
While I appreciate the fact that the designers have taken to calling it "Freedom Tower" and the height will be 1776 ft, the problem will always remain that when people look at the structure, they will not think about the Glorious Cause, but will instead remember the tragic events that took place.
In my previous Those Who Do Not Study History post, I stated that terrorists act to draw attention to themselves and their causes. This remembrance of the events of 9/11 will only serve to encourage them to try again. We need to remove that possibility by waging psychological warfare right along with the physical war.
The best way to wage that war would be to restore the structure to the same facade it had before. The message that will be sent is clearly that we were not affected by those actions. And every time they knock it down, we'll put it back. These people do not act logically, and our response needs to reflect that.
The question will be asked as to what to do regarding the memorial. I have a very simple answer. Erect a monument in the lobby, encase the ground zero flag in Lucite and attach this quote from Daniel Webster: "Let [my] last feeble and lingering glance rather behold the glorious ensign of the republic, now known and honored throughout the earth, still full high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in the original lustre, not a stripe erased or polluted, nor a single star obscured, bearing for its motto...spread over all the characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, -- Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!"
A more eloquent or fitting tribute to the principles this country stands for has never been spoken. We can send no more powerful message to the world than one that says our resolve is undeterred, our will is unbroken, and freedom will live on as long as we have breath in our bodies.
posted by exsubdriver at 8:37 AM
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