September 11 in History

September 11, 2009

It was a shock for me to realize in class today that my present ninth graders were in KINDERGARTEN when the Twin Towers fell. I remember the morning as if it were yesterday – walking from the subway to my workplace on 20^th Street, running into my friend Leah on the way, standing still in astonishment and wondering how any pilot could be so daft as to fly into the World Trade Center. I remember Leah telling me in no uncertain terms that we were witnessing a historic event, when the thought had not yet begun to percolate.

I remember the uneasy atmosphere at work, everyone exchanging stories and trying to find a radio station, attempting to call loved ones to make sure they were all right, trying to find some way to grasp what was going on, some logical explanation for what appeared to be inexplicable.

I remember the awful smell of burnt plastic and molten steel, the sight of wisps of paper circling gently before falling to the ground, the horrible gash on the landscape of my New York, and the other wounds, far deeper, that would be left on the hearts, minds and souls of my fellow Americans.

In a way it was fitting that I should be standing in front of a room full of German students on this particular day, because when I spoke to them, I attempted to describe what saddened me almost as much as the terrorist act itself – namely, the reactions that ensued:

There were the red, orange and yellow alerts, the scaremongering, the advice to stock up on bottled water and duct tape and the ubiquitous notices posted inviting patriotic citizens to call up the authorities regarding anyone or anything that might appear to be suspicious. I recall with a shudder the restriction of our civil liberties through such things as the Patriot Act, the random searches of backpacks on the subway, the rampant xenophobia, the excessive nationalism and flag-waving embodied in such priceless slogans as “These Colors Don’t Run,” and the forced closing of many Arab-owned shops in my homey neighborhood in Bay Ridge, closings that in my mind, at least, bore faint echoes of  Germany’s Kristallnacht in November of 1938, when, among other things, the store windows of Jews were smashed because it was they, then, who had the misfortune of being the scapegoats du jour.

When attacked, it is entirely understandable that the desire is roused to defend, but as an educator and as a believer that violence tends to beget more violence, I sympathize a great deal more with the approach advocated by Greg Mortensen, http://gregmortenson.blogspot.com/, whose book entitled Three Cups of Tea was truly inspiring to me when I was in Senegal (where of course it is also customary to share three cups of attaya with friends or even with complete strangers).

Mortensen advocated education and intercultural understanding as a path to peaceful coexistence and adamantly fought against his publisher’s suggestion that his book be given the subtitle “One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism, One School at a Time,” preferring “One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace, One School at a Time” instead. As Mortensen states, “The emphasis of the book is how education can change lives. If it can inspire one student to give a life of service to humanity, or national or local service, it’s worthwhile.”

I am therefore overjoyed that this year the federal government is advocating neither hatred nor violence, neither retaliatory attacks nor war, but service: an outpouring of love as a worthy tribute to the many innocent lives that were destroyed on this day nine years ago.

About the Author : Tamara-Diana Braunstein brings us her stories from Senegal every week. She was born in Brooklyn, New York. She is a restless wanderer who earned an MA from the University of Freiburg and has worked in a youth hostel in the French Alps, a law firm in Montreal, the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as in university press publishing. At the moment her home base is Dakar, Senegal, where she is supposed to be teaching but is doing far more learning, as you will see by reading her blog at www.senegalschoolmarm.blogspot.com