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7.
AOTW: At the official events of 9/11, politicians will read the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address. Do you think there should be some contemporary writing read that day? What author do you think could best deal with this mission?
Bruce Feiler: Once again, I think the opposite! Even more ancient writings need to be read, I'd say. I might recommend Genesis 12:1-6, God's famous calling of Abraham to "Go forth" from his father's house to the unnamed land that God will show him. This is a transforming fracture in the history of humankind and the moment that all three Abrahamic religions agree is the defining moment in building the bridge between humans and the Divine. I offer it here as a small plea of peace:
Go forth from your native land and from your father's house
to the land that I will show you.
I will make of you a great nation,
And I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
And curse him that curses you;
And all the families of the earth
Shall bless themselves by you.
Jim Fusilli: A memorial service is a time for solemn reflection and spiritual renewal, so it seems to me that any writing that's chosen has to address those ideals, regardless of when it was written or by whom. I'd hate to select any one contemporary writer, for fear of omitting someone else, but he or she would have to offer something that's substantial, eloquent and memorable.
William Carman: Yes. Preferably something to do with the global community.
Lori Woolridge: I think that poetry, the music of the soul, should be read that day. At this moment, Maya Angelou's And Still I Rise, comes to mind.
Jennifer Blake: Though this will be a day of utmost patriotism, some insight into the causes of 9/11 might be useful. For this, what about reading from James Baldwin or Salman Rushdie? A few starting quotes:
"Confronted with the impossibility of remaining faithful to one's beliefs, and the equal impossibility of becoming free of them, one can be driven to the most inhuman excesses." --- James Baldwin
"One of the extraordinary things about human events is that the unthinkable becomes thinkable." --- Salman Rushdie
"Such is the miraculous nature of the future of exiles: what is first uttered in the impotence of an overheated apartment becomes the fate of nations." --- Salman Rushdie
"Throughout human history, the apostles of purity, those who have claimed to possess a total explanation, have wrought havoc among mere mixed-up human beings." --- Salman Rushdie
"The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in any culture, because it seeks to turn other ideas- uncertainty, progress, change- into crimes." --- Salman Rushdie
Philip Jolowicz: As someone who is neither an American nor a scholar of American literature, I feel a little out of my depth on this one. As an outsider, there are three authors that have evoked essential America-ness for me more than others. They are: Mark Twain, John Steinbeck and F. Scott Fitzgerald. As for contemporary writers, I wouldn't dare suggest anyone that could continue or properly compliment the tone set by the Declaration and the Gettysburg Address.
Earl Merkel: After due consideration, that author would be ... me. If nothing else, I'm pretty sure I could read a passage from Final Epidemic in a way that would kick-start an audience stupefied by hours of droning politicians. I'll even do different voices for the different characters, maybe act out some of the action...
Seriously, the event cries out for an exceptional writer --- one who can communicate not just the impact of the tragic events of 9/11, but the renewed spirit and determination that we, as a country, have found in its aftermath.
And it has to be short and concise: for that, I'd nominate a journalist. Mike Royko, if he was still alive; Jimmy Breslin, since he is.
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