If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
You would think that the City would be doing everything possible to protect the health of police officers like Alonzo Harris, after all they have done for us. But you would be wrong.
Back on that clear September day in 2001, Stephen Siller ran all the way through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, straight to the South Tower. The Tunnel To Towers 5K race retraces his heroic footsteps.
I'm waiting on West 33rd Street for my bus back to Washington, D.C. For those who have taken the DC2NY bus, or one of the others that shuttle between the two cities, you know this spot. It's right in front of that strip joint.
New documents show that federal officials in Washington and New York downplayed concerns about health risks, concealing information that might have helped people who were contaminated at Ground Zero.
We have yet to see the full toll of 9/11 among first responders, even 10 years out. All relevant resources should be made available to address the burden of illness shouldered by these brave souls who rushed toward the very thing most of us with just average courage would flee.
For thousands of workers, this anniversary of 9/11 is an especially deep measure of loss -- not just the immediate loss of life, but years of lost opportunities to make still-neglected victims whole.
At a time of profound cynicism, uncertainty and frustration within our own borders, if nothing else, these two amazing films remind us that in the very worst of times, it's possible to find the best in ourselves.
So for all our brothers and sisters everywhere who share the incarnate knowledge of what hatred can do, what rageful reactivity can occasion: this song for all who would rebuild a New City.
On this weekend's solemn anniversary, we honor the sacrifices of our first responders who ran into burning buildings while others ran out. The selflessness of our firefighters, police, EMTs and hazmat workers who were first on the scene inspired the world.
For many Ground Zero workers, being hailed as a hero felt like fraud. "A hero is the guy who emerges from a burning building with a baby in his arms," they told me. None of them had, despite their attempts, rescued anyone.
September 11th prompted something else in the American psyche that reflected the heart of our nation -- our instinct to care for one another and to serve community and country.
In many ways the world has changed in 10 years, but in many ways it has not. We simply do not understand the Middle East as well as we should.
On September 11, 2001, the Vigiano brothers responded to the call from the World Trade Center, and both were killed while saving others. Here, John Sr. remembers his sons and reflects on coping with his tremendous loss.
The memory of 9/11 is a spark of conscience and a spur to action. Let us all fuel this rising movement, which is not about single issues or political parties, but a shared moral vision for a better world.
On the morning of 9/11, I was painting my nails to highlight the engagement ring my fiancé Sergio, an FDNY firefighter, had given me on the anniversary of our first kiss. Soon after, all the meaning to my life disappeared.
With each year that passes, more and more of those First Responders succumb to their illnesses and injuries sustained during the rescue and recovery efforts.
