In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
An outraged firefighter cries out in this editorial about the 9/11 memorial,
"So what sorts of ideas do we end up with? They have to do with light, hanging light, falling light, diluted light, drowning light. And also with stones that are crying, sky-reflecting water pools, floating gardens, bridges placed like bandages, cut fields and an apple orchard. The universal elements — air, water, earth and light — are celebrated. Nature is celebrated. Nowhere is there a representation of a human being."
Here's an idea: How about three marbled George W. Bushes sitting in a circle, back to back, in the classic "See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil" monkey pose on the Statue of Liberty's face, whose crying eyes spout arcs of bloody tears in a giant water fountain emblazoned with the motto, "I Hit the Trifecta" ? I don't know how others feel about this, but having worked in Central Park for a few years I quickly became aware of the incredible, unrelenting pressure from public, private and corporate groups to build memorials in public spaces -- notably parks and plazas. If these people had their way -- especially Yoko Ono -- the entire park and every public square inch would be a cluster of monuments to the dead: imagine the end of Citizen Kane, with that long dolly shot of all the statues locked up in giant boxes as far as the eye can see. Is that really how we want to remember the people who died that day, with a depressing monument? I've seen the Vietnam memorial and it is genius. A moving and inspired testimony to a useless, cruel and stupid war. Every name represents those who gave their lives to save the faces of LBJ and Nixon, two arrogant, dishonorable fuckheads who treated lives the way someone with a cold uses a box of Kleenex. So don't get me wrong; I'm not totally against the idea of a memorial under any circumstance, but the WTC is entirely different. That was an attack on our whole way of life. A memorial doesn't address this in any way -- in fact it does the opposite: it memorializes the terrorists' accomplishment and enshrines our vulnerablility. The best memorial I can think of is to rebuild lower Manhattan, give all the small businesses a whole bunch of money that was promised then denied, and make that goddamn blackened hole thrive again. When you get your front teeth knocked out, you don't go around toothless, you fix the problem and get on with your life (unless you can't afford it, like some of the battered women at the local Price Chopper, which is how Bush is making us look right now by withholding the money). The greatest testimony to those who died that day is to rise again like Phoenix from the ashes, to reinvent ourselves and make it clear to all who would strike us, You see? You can't destroy me.
- Michael 12:07 PM - [PermaLink] -
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