With the recent withdrawal from Iraq, I have been thinking about the beginning of it all, the event that changed the world. As I was strolling through downtown Manhattan in my home of New York City, I passed by Ground Zero with the same frustrated discontent as I had eleven years ago. The desolate abyss that was caused by the destruction of the falling Twin Towers looked not much different than what it looked like in 2001.
Of course, the rubble and debris is cleared away but the desolate abyss remains. There is no freedom tower in sight. In my opinion, over the past ten years, Ground Zero has had pathetic construction progress. There is minimal building structure framework surrounded by cranes and tractors that seem like they are there just for show.
The battle over corporate rights and construction company squabbles has made the construction of the freedom towers stagnant. Not only is it sad that the greed of companies has stalled the rebuilding of ground zero but it is also disgraceful.
In New York City, a towering skyscraper can be built within two years and the fact that ground zero is still desolate after eleven years is shameful to Americans and America’s image on the international stage. It is an absolute embarrassment that the world leader of the Western hemisphere has not yet constructed a memorial for the victims of 9/11.
It is obvious that the motives for the invasion of Iraq were less than wholesome, however the United States government could have at least tried to put on a better disguise as the “World Leaders in Freedom.”
They could have at least built a memorial at Ground Zero over the almost eleven years they have had to do so. This is a disgrace for 9/11 victims, their families, New Yorkers, Americans, and America’s image on the world stage.