Remembering 9/11: Personal reflections and worries about fading memory

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the writer was on a Brooklyn rooftop when the first plane struck the North Tower, followed shortly by a second jet hitting the South Tower. He spent the day amid ash and smoke, later joining rescue efforts at Ground Zero in hopes of finding survivors. The piece highlights the nationwide solidarity that emerged, cutting across political and religious lines.

Twenty-five years later, a new survey reveals that two-thirds of college professors in Middle-East studies say students cannot name the attackers or explain why the attacks occurred. The author attributes this gap to “woke” curricula and to left-leaning politicians who, in his view, minimize the event, citing the mayor’s wife’s social-media comments as an example. He urges the city’s mayor to avoid Ground Zero on the anniversary, framing the day as one for remembrance rather than political debate.