11
Sep
9/11 Remembrance at U Penn
Every day on the way to my office I walk through Penn’s College Green, past The Button and Penn’s replica of the famous Love statue. Today, on the anniversary of 9/11, the Green was adorned with a multitude of small American flags (the crummy picture is from my cell phone camera). I didn’t come across any information about who worked on it, but I imagine there’s a flag for each person who died that day.
The memory of 9/11 has been so cynically used and manipulated for political purposes over the years (the latest example being the timing of General Petraeus’ Senate testimony) that its anniversary has become a political and emotional minefield. Given all that, I thought this remembrance was very nicely done. It reminded me of the loss we experienced that day, it made me think of the families of the victims, and it evoked a quiet patriotism. It let you experience those feelings without feeling like you were being used in someone’s political agenda, and these days that’s not an easy thing to achieve.
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