This Sunday is the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. It is a day that shaped the United State for the next decade and beyond. Our government responded with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as controversial homeland security measures like the Patriot Act. Many citizens responded to the attacks by uniting with a strong sense of patriotism and pride .
Everyone is going to have different memories of that day. Some people only saw the images on a television screen or on a newspaper. Others had to see it with their own eyes. No matter what, everyone was affected by the attacks on that day in some way.
But as the anniversary gets closer, it is becoming clearer that people are forgetting the unity the country had in the direct aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
It is unfortunate, but Sept. 11 has become a political topic. People have fought over everything from what can be built in a five-mile radius of Ground Zero to who should be allowed at the memorial's grand opening.
One of the biggest arguments that dealt around the attack site was a Muslim cultural center, Park51 which was later nicknamed by critics of the construction as the ""Ground Zero mosque."" Constructing this building could have sent a message that America was as united ever, but instead it resulted in a heated political debate around the nation.
Some people had purely emotional reasons to not want a Muslim community center so close to an area that was attacked by radical Muslims. But people need to remember that the terrorists tried to disrupt the American way of life, which is one that was built on religious tolerance.
While some are trying to deny a specific religion from encroaching on Ground Zero, some groups are trying to deny any religion at all. An atheist group, American Atheists, filed a lawsuit to remove a ruin that looks like a Christian cross that was later erected where it was found. The lawsuit will likely fail in court, but the attempt shows that truly no spot is sacred from fickle arguments.
Another debate erupted when New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to not include any members of the clergy at the memorial dedication. While I don't agree with his decision, I don't believe the harsh criticism Bloomberg received was needed or justified. He was trying to put together a memorial, not a Sunday mass.
At the bottom of all these problems is a certain nosiness that is becoming increasingly prevalent in our culture. We can't leave well enough alone, especially if it doesn't affect us. Different people all over the United States were calling for the ""Ground Zero mosque"" to not be built, even if they didn't live in New York. Atheists didn't want a cross to be at Ground Zero, even though that particular shape has no significant meaning to them. And again, national news outlets were outraged with the lack of clergy at the memorial opening, even though few will attend or witness it.
I understand the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks affected everyone, even if they were not New Yorkers. I also understand that different people want to remember and mourn that day in different ways. I even understand that people always want their way. But what I don't understand is how people can think about that day and the way that thousands of people lost their lives, then see a way that others decide to mourn it and only think about their own self-interests.
It seems that everything from speeches to building construction adds to the United States' volatile political landscape. It would be nice if people could put aside their differences and self-interests for one day and focus on the people who lost their lives in those attack, their families and the brave men and women who answered the call to protect our country.
Matt Beaty is a junior majoring in math and computer science. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
