Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource TomPaine.com Stories Description An account of the resource TomPaine.com -- a liberal advocacy organization -- distributed a public call on August 12, 2002 for 300 word "opinion advertisement" similar to those that the organization had been running regularly in the op-ed page of The New York Times. TomPaine.com received hundreds of submissions from the public, most of which the September 11 Digital Archive has preserved here. TomPaine Story TomPaine Story: Story The Innocents Abroad "You can't blame the innocent," wrote Graham Greene in The Quiet American, touching on a central tenet of the American psyche. "Innocence is a kind of insanity." Schizophrenia might be a more precise diagnosis for a nation that, amidst constant self-reassurance of its status as a "lone superpower," doesn't need much convincing of its own innocence. As Lewis Lapham outlined in a timely Harper's article shortly before the terror attacks last year, Americans tend to see themselves as the citizens of a "virtuous empire," heirs to that fabled city on a hill?a conception that the attacks have only served to strengthen. If the events of September 11th should have taught us anything it is that America isn?t seen by much of the world as it is by itself. Recent skirmishes with our allies over the Rome Treaty and American peacekeepers have continued to underscore this notion, signaling a resurgent drift toward unilateralism. But nowhere is a continued perception gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world more pronounced than on the threat of a possible invasion of Iraq. Without a clear reason to go to war, the Bush administration finds itself without a single supporter. ""But after all"", it seems to say, nodding over at Saddam, ""we?re the innocent ones here!"" Given that preemptive force contradicts the international norm of collective defense, it?s no wonder our allies aren't falling into line. Writing in Granta shortly after September 11th, Ian Buruma (a European) eulogized America's semi-conscious forgetfulness by noting that "the promise of freedom in America is precisely to be liberated from the past." To this I (an American) can only say: "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it." Has America forgotten the lesson of September 11th? We sure seem to be trying our hardest. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource tp53.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-02-24