REACTIONS 9.11.11

In brutal fashion the curtain was pulled back on this day ten years ago on a financial system built on sand, a system that has been sinking, floundering, ever since. A screaming child rained fire and brimstone down on New York and the horror that had always been kept out of our back yard (a massive form of NIMBYism) was brought home. The other World, the world of the humane and empathic, reached out to New York, and by extension, to America. The moment was great, and then the moment was squandered. Patriotism took the form of an angry, petulant child that refused to turn the other cheek, or consider the reasons that might (repeat might) lie behind the actions perpetrated on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. To say such actions can in any way be justified is not possible. They were as wrong as wrong can ever be. But the inarticulate frustration of half the planet lay behind the action. The time was ripe for reflection. Instead the government of George Bush chose to rain down fire and brimstone back...”back at you!” From a professed born again Christian this was ripe, Pregnant with petulant hypocrisy the Nation had started down a road that was all about protecting the wealth of the few against the rage of the many. We are still being force marched down that path by a Republican party bent on squeezing every penny it can from social programs whilst refusing to condone any tax increases on the rich.

On this day we should remember all who died on this date and all—thousands upon thousands—who have died since. The dogs of war were unleashed in the aftermath of 9/11 and the people of the US have been urged—not to think or feel, contemplate or reflect on all that has gone down—but to keep spending, to buy, to acquire and consume until there is nothing left.

My response on that day was to take my too young son to an overlook in my town in New Jersey and watch the burning towers on the not too distant horizon line of New York City. Later in the day I’d see ash covered commuters exciting the train, making calls from phone booths. This began to bring home the magnitude of what had happened. From my remote perspective all was barely distinguishable from an action movie. That very morning the cable guy had just set us up. I was upstairs in my studio working on an illustration assignment when the radio went fuzzy. The cable guy called up to say he was done. He turned on the TV and the first thing we saw was a plane flying into the World Trade Center, and we both stood there, our mouths open.

A few months later EXIT ART did a show called REACTIONS that was open to all. The comedians couldn’t laugh any more and the artists were struggling to find visual equivalence. These were my contributions. Small drawings and graphics. Attempts to grapple with so many conflicting thoughts and feelings. Anger. Retribution. Absurdity of Life. Sanctity of Life. Anger at all Religion carte blanche. Fury at Governments and politicians and armies sending simple children to fight their wars without question. My own sense of futility and impotence. The fragility of everything. The wonder of people wanting to help, reach out, touch and hold.

Pete Hamill , today, talking with Brian Lehrer on WNYC, articulates well many in that mixed bag of feelings from that time that continue to jostle from within.