In class we talked about the New Yorker essays that were written approximately a week after the attacks hit and what the authors had right and wrong about the attacks. One of the authors, Susan Sontag, was the most "controversial" because she spoke, what I believe, is the truth about America. In her essay she says, "Let's by all means grieve together. But let's no be stupid together." Sontag is saying that Americans can grieve together but they shouldn't be stupid or nieve together. She is saying that collectively as a nation we can be really stupid and think that nothing bad will happen to us and that this attack came totally unprovoked. In reality it was not and because we are thick-headed Americans, we think that nothing bad could ever happen to us, that we are the greatest and that we could never do anything bad to another country or group of people.
I feel that in real life people tend to think that nothing bad could ever happen to them and that they could never do anything to provoke something bad happening to them. People, especially in the North Shore, live inside a "bubble." They think that life is perfect and that they will always have everything that they have in the North Shore. They don't realize that in a matter of seconds everything that they have could be gone. I feel that Susan Sontag was trying to tell us this in her essay on the September 11th attacks. She, generally speaking, said that Americans think that nothing bad could ever happen to them and if something does happen then everyone should stop what they are doing grieve together. She says that this is wrong, that we should grieve together but we shouldn't be stupid together. She points out the things in real life that people don't realize that they are doing.
Stephanie, I agree that Susan Sontag has a controversial view point, but I feel she speaks with a fair amount of truth. She is not taking things out of perspective by downsizing Americans. I think she is commenting on reality. I like your views on the North Shore "bubble." I think it is very true. We realize that what we have is not even close to average. We live like kings and queens compared to the rest of the world. We should embrace that and not take it for granted. I want to abandon the American safety net and become more aware of America's surroundings.
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