"Talk of the Town" A Juxtaposition of Views on a Tragic Event

The first thing that I noticed about Updike's article on 9/11 was the spectacular job that he did describing the incident. I was obviously young when the event took place. At the time I couldn't quite comprehend, or I suppose was protected from knowing, just how much of a tragedy this event was. I had no idea how many people died. I definitely didn't know the impact that it would have on the future and the political climate of the following decade. Updike's description of the event did a great job of creating an image in my mind and pinning something resembling reality on an event that has lived in somewhat of an obscurity in mind. He gave some great imagery and I believe described the impact that the event had very well, especially on those living in New York City.

He went on to portray the conflicting perspectives on the event. He speaks, however briefly, on how war turns the both sides to become furious and violent. He describes how that fury can drive certain people to conduct a deed so evil and yet believe that they are the ones who are becoming martyrs and committing a glorious deed in the name of God.

In the last paragraph he does a good job of encompassing the story of America into just one sentence, that being the last. He describes how he looked out on the skyline of Southern Manhattan as the sun rose and believed it looked glorious. It tells how Americans must persevere as we always have. We must move on from an event with our heads held high and face a new dawn.

This story rang true to me. It definitely floats amongst the emotional side of the issue. It's easy to relate to, and it did a good job of giving me an idea of how the event affected people at the time.

The next article by Sontag was, obviously, quite different from the first. I for one, however, must applaud Sontag for her bravery and realism. Although many people began to take a side similar to hers long after the event, she pioneered an idea that, although could be considered blasphemous by some, obviously required a great deal of deep reasoning skills and individuality. She presented an interesting point that I have agreed with for sometime. America, along with other world powers, created the conflicts in the middle east. We put tyrants into power and forged alliances while we pitted other against each other. We played the middle east like a game of chess. Maybe this backward way of foreign policy should be fixed instead of going to war with a nation and basically destroying it while killing hundreds of thousands.

I think that the founding fathers would be proud to see such a courageous piece of wiring. America was founded on the ideal of questioning the status quot and old ideas. Our constitution makes it easy for things to be changed. Isn't the main idea of democracy to discuss things? The men that founded this country were very much men of The Enlightenment who believed in applying reason to everything. I believe that Sontag has done just that. Rather than blindly following the leaders of the country who say that all will be alright, we must form our own ideas and forge our own paths. So, kudos to you, Ms. Sontag.