I was sitting at the desk I'm using at my client's, looking out, and realized how interesting it is that I'm sitting here doing work that has grown in no small part from my blog - and looking down on the site of the World Trade Center, which is a big part of why I started blogging.
Yeah, I know, it's probably no big deal, but it feels odd.
Armed Liberal didn't even exist before 9-11, nor did Demosophia, or Winds of Change. But the credit for having launched a new social, political, intellectual movement doesn't go to the boneheads who plowed into the WTC like Gus Ferrot breaking his ignorant brainstem on a concrete wall. They seemed monumentally braindead then, for a reason. And the issue was always "how could anyone be this gapingly foolish? Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face..."
But having said that, I still feel that I'm at a turning point. I'm not satisfied any longer with just mounting an opposition to spuming ignorance. I agree with Whittle that it's time to build something, and that a new World Trade Center is, however inspiring, but a reflection of that initiative.
It's not nearly enough to be on the defensive. A grudging and niggardly curse at the heavens isn't even close to a tower to the stars. The deeper you look, the farther you see.
A week after 911 I started a free online library (called Bookyards located at http://www.bookyards.com) in the belief that it is only through education and the free spread of information that in the long run would prevent such atrocities.
Winds of Change was the first blog to recognize our site (we are listed in your Watch list), and your site has been repeatedly used by our site for leads to stories and info.
While I do not know the traffic stats for Winds of Change, Bookyards has reached hundreds of thousands over the years and is now reaching an even greated audience.
Two months ago I was at ground zero ... I know how you feel ..... and yes ...... it is a BIG DEAL.
[Deleted. Capotal, you were banned for two weeks on the 15th of June. This post's former "drive-by" content does not increase the likelihood of your reinstatement. You also might try putting a real email address in your posts. --NM, for AL]
What's odd, and more than a little depressing, is that this is still basically a hole in the ground after all this time.
The original World Trade Center groundbreaking was on August 5th, 1966. First occupancy of WTC One was in December of 1970. Occupancy of WTC Two started on January of 1972. The ribbon cutting was April 4, 1973. If I add it up right, that's four years and four months from groundbreaking to first occupancy, and six years and eight months to the final ribbon cutting.
This fall it will be six years since 9/11. Around May of 2008 will be six years and eight months. And it's still a hole in the ground.