World Trade Center
Ever since September 11 2001, the World Trade Center has been somewhat of a national obsession. At first, people were all bent on revenge, then they were bent on rebuilding it. Nowadays, however, the World Trade Center is more of a tourist destination.
I went down to ground zero just a year after the bombing to look at the twin towers site, and I was really surprised with how quickly the cleanup was progressing. In no time at all, most of the debris had been cleared out, and they seemed to be laying the foundation for the next twin towers building. Unfortunately, things seemed to hit a snag soon after that. People could not decide on how they wanted the worlds trade center memorial to look.
Some people wanted a World Trade Center that looked as much like the original as possible. Other people wanted a clean, modern, and advanced WTC that was a tribute to American ingenuity. A lot of folks wanted to make sure that the building was heavily armored to protect it from anything similar ever happening again. Other people felt that it would be better to make an open, spacious building that honored freedom instead of the harsh militarism that a heavily armored WTC would portray.
Nowadays, they seem to have it pretty well underway. The new World Trade Center building is going to be bigger and better than ever before, and it shouldn't be too much longer until it is completely finished. Even so, for a lot of people it is hard to get used to the changing skyline. When I went back to New York and saw the 911 memorabilia everywhere, I was pretty taken by how much it has really affected our national consciousness. Not only have we created one of the most impressive memorials to commemorate the tragic loss, but we have also made hundreds and hundreds of videos, documentaries, pictures, and audio recordings to document how the tragedy has effected the lives of ordinary Americans and people around the world.
If you go to New York, you really should take a stop by the world trade visitors center while you are downtown. You may not think that it has effected your life, but it has changed so many things about our country that it has touched each and every one of us. Seeing the tragedy from the perspective of New Yorkers is a really eye-opening experience that should not be missed.
