PrintMarch 27, 2009
Building that is replacing the Man Caused Disaster of 9/11 no longer 'Freedom Tower'
We're not calling it "terrorism" anymore so I guess we need a new name for the building that is replacing the structure most associated with it:
Freedom is so passe at Ground Zero.Once hailed as a beacon of rebirth in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the Freedom Tower's patriotic name has been swapped out for the more marketable One World Trade Center, officials at the Port Authority conceded today.But more than seven years after the terror attacks and amid an effort to market the iconic tower to international tenants, sentiment gave way to practicality."As we market the building, we will ensure that the building is presented in the best possible way," said Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia."One World Trade center is its address. It's the address that we're using. Its on the one that's easiest for people to identify with and frankly we've gotten a very interested and warm reception to it."
While there is somewhat of a satisfying symbiosis with naming the building "World Trade Center" I am uneasy that by doing so, it is just another effort to forget the originals and what happened to them.
This bow to "practicality" smacks of pandering to tenants who might have a less than expansive view of "freedom" in their own countries which is retreat as far as I'm concerned. There was nothing wrong with "Freedom Tower" as a name to replace buildings brought down by those who wish to destroy the very concept.
I guess the Port Authority would just as soon forget the whole thing. They've already tried to hide the memorial by putting it underground. Why not go all the way and simply throw the whole incident down the memory hole.
