AT AROUND noon yesterday I emerged from an office building a few blocks from Grand Central in midtown Manhattan. I decided to leave my job when reports began to circulate - one of many rumors - that an uptown bus terminal on 125th Street had been bombed and it appeared that something even more serious was about to develop. The dual acts of terrorism had occurred earlier, but the unfolding events had led everyone to an increasing sense of panic as we all watched and listened, along with the world, as two of the most recognizable buildings on Earth came crashing to the city floor. One hour later I had successfully crossed the 59th Street bridge to Queens and in 40 more minutes was home in Astoria.
I rigged up a wire from outside one of my windows to plug in the long dormant TV and with horrible reception watched the only local channel that didn't go down with the antenna on top of the World Trade Center. Radio was my chief source of information as the reports came in, hour after hour. I listened as regular show hosts took calls from people on the scene as well as official briefings and commentary, and I became increasingly concerned, not about how bad the damage was or even how many people still remained within the smoldering wreckage downtown, but about who we, as Americans, must think we are.
Things began to strike me as peculiar, such as the usage of the word "we" or the way in which two radio personalities treaded the line between warning and reminding a young Arab-American woman who had called in that she should stay home from work today and be sure to use English in public. One man who had witnessed rioting in a largely Arab neighborhood phoned in to say he had just finished fastening a large American flag to the hood of his car and was preparing to drive through.
Howard Stern called for bombing in his trademark half-serious way and let all his listeners call up and praise him for preaching the truth, condemning all possibly suspect countries and all "towel-wearing" individuals within our own borders. Stern was cowardly enough to get everybody going by lambasting the cheering Palestinians overseas, then sitting back and watching what people do under their emotional duress or insecurity. What am I saying here about Stern's format? Let me mention a realization I had yesterday to help bring it all together.
Q: Why is it such a big deal in a time of disaster if the president's life is endangered? He doesn't generate ideas for the country, though he does get the last word.
A: He is the glue that holds the public's feeling of well being together, a poster boy for freedom from worry, and I believe that, in many ways, is it.
No one is really surprised that something like this could happen, but they are surprised that it actually did. A lot of people are thinking, "I thought we were invincible. I thought our security systems would keep us safe."
The at-the-movies feeling we seem to get from being American has left us temporarily: enter, the president's address to the world. I listened as he appeased the anger of confused Americans who feel cheated, and I consider how most people are never going to worry for one second in any meaningful way about the reasons behind this attack. They are not going to wonder what the political climate is like or how daily life is in other countries. When has curiosity been in the character of our people? How can we expect to sympathize with other people whom we have never seen and react in a reasonable way to events that are out of our control? Will our president ever demand this of us?
I do not wish to cast a shroud of guilt onto those who have not had the time or inclination to consider world affairs, but it is worth reiterating the need to act slowly and thoughtfully to all events that take place in our lives. Be informed and well read. I see too many people who are uninformed. They are the heads of pharmaceutical companies and many other major institutions and they are not Wahoos.
Challenge yourselves to make your own agenda and to stand strong and patient against a surging tide of public opinion. What we need here in New York is a little more patience and some time to think. I hope we get it and that we use it wisely.
In the meantime, make it your priority to demand this of everyone you know and use all the powers that this great University provides you with. Reason is free to combat positions that majorities from time to time will adopt. Most of us have not seen wartime, but believe that the speech of one American can lead when the time arises. Do not use that knowledge irresponsibly because that time may be now.
(Eric Holloway is a 2000 University graduate. He lives and works in New York City.)
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