Consumerism, Tragedy, and Patriotism September Essay

Daniel Harris describes this coping mechanism the "kitschification of Sep. 11." Harris's main argument is that we stopped asking critical questions about the actual reasons of why 9/11 happened. Instead, he says, we resorted to mythologizing history, viewing ourselves as the absolute good and depicting the enemy as the absolute evil whose actions could never be explained with reason. I think, Harris is pretty harsh in his scathing criticism of our response to 9/11. But looking back at what happened and the consequences of government response, I think, his criticism is justified. The only point where I disagree with him is in his suggestion that we turned our commemoration of 9/11 into a national euphoria and became "excited." I do not remember any sense of excitement over the tragedy though Harris might have been more alert than me.

Reading William Hart's article was also eye-opening.It gave me a different look at the role of country music in our country. Of course, it is very popular in America, but he shows that country music historically has been associated with support for war. Moreover, the Pentagon used it in its propaganda campaigns. It would have been a reassuring feeling for me if country music, in the wake of 9/11, was only used as a healing and comforting tool. The way it was used for propaganda purposes, however, does not dwell well with me. Once again it is a realization for me that government is ready to use any tool at its disposal to convince us of its righteousness.

In general, what I took from these readings is that our collective….....