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January 2002
Wide Awake In America
So this is what happens when civilized and uncivilized worlds collide.
Before September 11th, my generation looked at movies like Born on
the Fourth of July and Saving Private Ryan mainly as pure entertainment.
Their messages hitting home, but fading soon after the credits rolled.
We felt removed from the ongoing suffering of those who experienced
a war, those who fought for their country. Then, in a period shorter
than the running time of either of those two films, our lives changed,
the world changed, the perception, the very meaning of everything that
had happened previously changed forever.
Suddenly, this was no longer nickel ante poker over at Uncle Saddam's
bunker. This was now a high stakes stud game and the rounders had invited
themselves over to our house.
America stands at the water cooler on Monday mornings these days no
longer pondering whether the Ravens can contain the Rams passing game,
but whether our government is doing enough to contain the spread of
disease in the event of a biochemical terrorist attack. In the nearly
60 years since World War II, we have completed the transformation from
John Steinbeck and Norman Rockwell portraits in the Saturday Evening
Post to Tom Clancy and Wolf Blitzer bio-terrorist reports on CNN.
We're told to go on and live our lives as normal. But there is nothing
normal about our lives. We have been irrecoverably altered. We have
been violated. Is it a positive that we have been awakened? A better
question may be, did we need to have a mass loss of life to be awakened?
Fanatics have been willing to sacrifice their lives for lesser reasons
than religion for centuries and we've had a mighty and persuasive finger
in holy wars happening overseas for decades. Did we, as citizens, neglect
that fact because these zealots lived and these battles happened on
foreign soil? Did they, our government, stop setting the alarm at night
because no one had broken into our joint since Pearl Harbor? Given the
current state of affairs, one would be hard pressed not to answer those
questions with yes and yes.
But it's easy to raise questions…It's easy to be angry…It's
natural to want to assess blame. It's much more simple to ponder "what
if" as opposed to addressing "what now", but that is what
we must do. We stand at the threshold of a new time. The tenor of our
country, the rules our future generations will abide by unmistakably unknown.
We need leaders to follow. We need heroes to embrace. Fortunately for
us, we have them in abundance.
People like Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who within hours of the attacks placed
the fragile psyche of millions on solid ground and anchored it there.
People like Howard Lutnick, who after losing 700 employees in the WTC
tragedy faced the world with his emotional wounds on full display and
let us all know that it was OK to cry, to mourn, to be bitter, to be
vengeful, but it was much more cathartic to remember and to heal within
one's own means. People like President Bush, who has led with the will,
heart and pride of a lion, all the while remaining remarkably human.
People like the men and women of the New York City fire, police and
EMS departments, who rushed without hesitation into buildings no longer
standing to save people they did not know.
These are people who help to make the next day not only one to cherish,
but to anticipate. They are people who should forever serve as a reminder
as to why the good guys always win.
We can pray for peace, but it takes common ground for peace. The rubble
of the World Trade Center serves as a daily reminder of how far we are
from that common ground. I'd rather pray for strength amongst people
who champion freedom. It just seems much more realistic. And, right
now, we cannot have enough reality.
The record shows we'll fight the good fight. And I have no doubt that
we will prevail just as I am certain there will be a further price in
victory. There always is. But, I live in America and that means I have
faith in abundance. But it also means, for the first time in a long
time, I'm wide awake.
Enjoy the Issue,
Richard Botto,
Editor in Chief / CEO of RAZOR Magazine - The Definitive Men's Lifestyle Magazine
www.razormagazine.com
