The woman who complained that the trailer for the film
"United 93" should not have been shown at a local
Manhattan Loews theater is typical of the New Yorkers who don't
want to be reminded of why we are at war. The theater manager,
Kevin Adjodha, told a Newsweek reporter that the woman cried and
said it was wrong to show the trailer, which was subsequently
pulled. "It's too soon," some say of the first film
about September 11, 2001, to hit the big screen. Balderdash, I
say.
United 93 is the flight that crashed in a Pennsylvania field. The
passengers, aware that their hijacked plane was heading toward
another target like the World Trade Center, fought back against
the hijackers, and the plane went down. No matter where one
stands on the issue of the Iraq war, this film will be a grim
recollection of one of the worst days in our city's history.
September 11, 2006, will be the fifth anniversary of that awful
day, and yet for some it's still too soon to show the terrible
images that haunted us during the months following the attacks.
Pardon my insensitivity, but I can't help but sense that much of
the objection to viewing these images is not coming from those
personally affected by 9/11.
America Online recently presented a forum to discuss the trailer
and its impact on the audience. Some of the most surprising
comments came from unexpected quarters. Sandra Felt, whose
husband was on United 93, was quoted as saying, "I did not
anticipate the general reaction that I'm seeing. But I think of
it as a good thing. It creates awareness about terrorism."
That's exactly what's missing in this town. Many New Yorkers have
become downright complacent, ignoring the reality of the hole in
our hearts known as ground zero. That complacency is probably the
result of a concerted effort by mainstream journalists and
celebrities to label this war as unnecessary. Afghanistan was
okay but not Iraq, they say. I ask these simpletons: Where are
these jihadists liable to go next?
The vitriol against our president is not unlike that hurled at
Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. He, too, was branded
incompetent. "He is ignorant, self-willed, and is surrounded
by men, some of whom are almost as ignorant as himself,"
charged General George Bancroft, a former secretary of the Navy.
Now where did I learn this? From a Canadian. Ian Robinson's
informative and clever columns in the Calgary Sun are regularly
posted onwww.lucianne.com- a great source for news and commentary
from around the globe, whether conservative or liberal. Mr.
Robinson's recognition of reality is much sharper than that of so
many dwellers in our concrete jungle - a sad commentary.
This coming Sunday is Iraq Liberation Day. I was reminded of this
by a press release from an organization called "Families
United for Our Troops and Their Mission." It calls this the
anniversary of the end of Saddam Hussein's barbaric regime, as
well as the day that launched the people of Iraq down the
challenging road toward freedom, democracy, and self-sufficiency.
It included a letter from Merrilee Carlson, whose son, Michael,
made the ultimate sacrifice. She writes, "My son died to
liberate people from oppression," and her letter includes
his personal credo that confirmed that he knew the cause was
honorable. She urges that we sign a petition at
www.familiesunitedmission.com to "encourage the media to
remember this historic milestone."
Thank goodness for the Internet, for otherwise I would be under
the impression that all military parents were as self-promoting
and bitter as Cindy Sheehan, who's viewed as a kind of Mother
Courage in this town. In the past year, I've cancelled at least
seven subscriptions to various magazines that focus only on the
negative news coming out of Iraq. The monthly attack on President
Bush by the editor of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter, had far more
to do with the magazine's sinking sales than whether a man or a
woman is on the cover.
The myopic vision of these elitist Manhattan liberals needs to be
jolted with harsh images. Just last month, the falling man was
tentatively identified. What falling man, you ask? How could
anyone forget that photograph of the man who jumped from the
burning towers - his body barreling straight down with one leg
bent as if he were an Olympic diver? His identity was the source
of much speculation and commentary in Britain, but not here,
where he was murdered by a barbaric enemy still waging war
against our fearless military and brave Iraqis.
"United 93" will be shown on the opening day of the
Tribeca Film festival. It's been nearly five years. The wakeup
call is long overdue.