Word: patrioteers
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Sept. 4 of this year, President Bush officially named the most infamous day in recent memory. He proclaimed that Sept. 11, 2002 and every subsequent Sept. 11 would be called Patriot Day. This announcement was not big news; The New York Times thought it was only worth A20 coverage. But the choice of Patriot Day really is shocking, because it distorts the focus of this solemn...
...anniversary of Sept. 11 should be a day of complete sadness in honor of the thousands of victims. But with a name like Patriot Day there is the danger that the anniversary will become a day when we think more about our country than we do about the victims...
...signs of this danger were already evident in the official proclamation of Patriot Day. In that proclamation, President Bush cites Sept. 11 as a day that brought the nation together, and he urges Americans to remember the patriotism with which America responded to the attacks: “From the tragedy of September 11 emerged a stronger Nation, renewed by a spirit of national pride and a true love of country.” This feel-good message may be appropriate on other days, but on the anniversary of Sept. 11 it detracts from the focus on the victims...
...problem with the name Patriot Day goes deeper than its failure to see the worldwide aspect of the Sept. 11 tragedy. Putting a patriotic spin on such a day is emotionally and intellectually dishonest. Thinking of patriotism on Sept. 11 would no doubt make us feel better about the tragedy, but the anniversary is a time when we need to feel the deep sadness of the event. Something terrible happened on Sept. 11, and we should not try to lessen our grief by ascribing false meaning to the attacks...
...Instead of calling the anniversary Patriot Day, the president and Congress might consider following in the footsteps of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City. Before Sept. 11, the Oklahoma City bombing had been the largest act of terrorism on American soil, and yet the state and local governments of Oklahoma decided not to give an official name to April 19, the anniversary of the bombing. But if the anniversary of the terrorist attacks must be named, let’s make sure that the name allows us to remember the tragedy honestly. Instead of Patriot Day, we could call...