IF YOU haven't watched one bit of news, watched one documentary, listened to any programs, read any newspapers or searched Internet news sites during the past week, you're better off than most people. No matter the time of day or the medium you are examining, we are bombarded with reminders of how important September 11 supposedly is in American history. The media coverage was oversaturated last September, but now it has become exploitative as raw emotion is used as a tool to generate fear of a vague and small threat, as well as ratings.
Media and entertainment have become intertwined recently and their combined influence is overwhelming in its vast reach into the American mind. With September 11, the media found the ultimate story that appeals to all demographics, has action and heroes, explosions, heart-felt emotion, incredible visuals and a glossy MTV feel. On the actual day of the event, everybody remarked that it looked like something out of a movie like "Independence Day." But who could have thought up a better movie concept than the real-life events? It captivates Americans with a morbid fascination for events that seem to defy the wildest imagination. And so we get every channel creating documentaries, every newspaper writing in-depth columns, 60 Minutes interviewing President Bush on his recollection of the day, countless tributes and blah, blah, blah.
It is sickening to see the nation focus its entire attention on this one event as if it is the only thing that matters in the nation. A great many people died who really didn't need to, and we eulogize the pre-September 11 life as if America died that day. America got a wake-up call, but rather than answer it and respond to its problems, it dozed off and succumbed to weakness and easy answers.
A recent CNN-Time poll showed that 44 percent of the nation approved of making yesterday a national holiday. People asked each other what they would be doing September 11 as if it were Labor Day, Memorial Day or New Year's. We should all take a moment and think about how lucky we are and remember that so many innocent people died last year, but nothing more. September 11 was a universally sad day for America and the world, but it was not a national tragedy that should be commemorated as a turning point in American history.
You want national or global tragedy? There are 24,000 people dying today from hunger (www.elca.org). In America, 11.2 percent of children go to school every day without adequate health insurance (http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2002pres/20020204.html). There are countless horrifying statistics that could illustrate the point, but they won't do any good. Americans need to realize that the sheer shock value of September 11 is clouding the issue that terrorism does not affect their everyday lives. Homelessness, the rising cost of health insurance, cancer, drunk driving and lack of quality education threaten our future generations and, unlike terrorism, they can be ameliorated if Americans pay attention.
Instead, we focus on that which we cannot prevent, and we revel in our self-despair. Everybody is a little less innocent and naive, and there is a greater respect for heroes. We may worry a little more about money, but the recession owes much to other factors. And we may be a little more wary of flying and traveling, but the chance of being struck by terrorism is less than that of getting a Lawn room in the spring. But the everyday routine of waking up, going to classes, eating lunch, playing sports, working jobs and going out with friends has not changed. Although there are those who lost friends and family, most University students and ordinary citizens live as they did before September 11.
But today is September 12. Hopefully things no longer will be referred to as post-September 11 and the definition of life in terms of one single, isolated event will cease. Perhaps more people could turn off the television and really think about what is going on in the world around them. Yes, there are bad men who don't like us and will kill more helpless Americans. But there are people in Charlottesville and Virginia who are suffering right now and are being ignored because their story isn't as sexy and gripping as September 11.
Emotions run so high over terrorism that this argument will be deemed arrogant, insensitive, out of touch and even un-American. But there is no denying that ceding to the terrorists that they scored the greatest landmark event in the past few decades is a true national tragedy. Then perhaps credit should be given to bin Laden, as September 11 was the greatest act of minimalist terrorism ever known. We have been bullied into believing the death of 3,000 people is more important and frightening than people dying from preventable causes in our land.
(Brad Cohen's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at bcohen@cavalierdaily.com.)
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