Mathew
Tombers is the President of Intermat,
Inc., a consulting practice that specializes in the intersection
of media, technology and marketing. For two years, he produced
the Emmys on the Web and supervised web related activities for
the Academy, including for the 50th Anniversary year of the
Emmy Awards. In addition to its consulting engagements, Intermat
recently sold METEORS TALE, an unpublished novel by Michael
ORourke, to Animal Planet for development as a television
movie. Visit his
web site at http://www.intermat.tv |
Reflecting and Reacting
I'm sipping my coffee and finishing up the raft of newspapers
I brought
with me on the Acela. I'm on my way down to D.C. to attend
several
meetings at Discovery Communications and, when I am finished
with that,
I'll have dinner with an old friend and his two sons. I'm
anticipating
a pleasant day.
In the early part of the morning as I was riding in the cab
to Penn
Station I went, as you have to, past "the hole"
and was noticing, in
myself mostly, that there is a different mood that is settling
over the
city now that the official search for remains is over. It's
different.
It's "better" in that a certain sense of somberness
has departed. You
can drive by with the official knowledge that down there,
whatever
they're doing, they're not looking for body parts. I wasn't
thinking
that would make a difference but it does. One phase of all
of this is
over.
Certainly the news coverage around us is different. 9/11 has
been
taking a backseat to corporate fraud and flailing markets.
9/11 still,
though, remains the point in time when new things began. The
news
magazines report that the new hot job in D.C. is to be part
of the
Homeland Security Department. It is supposed to be becoming
the
"pre-eminent" Washington agency and it hasn't even
been formed yet. I
find it a little unsettling that there is a Department of
Homeland
Security - it's always bothered me because when I hear the
words I
recognize that the times, they are a-changing.
The market popped yesterday at the sight of John Rigas being
led off in
handcuffs. It was a symbol of what people felt needed to be
done -
putting the bad guys away. Though there were a lot of people
who were
wondering why we aren't seeing Ken Lay in those handcuffs?
It's just so interesting to me that we're really moving on.
It feels
good. Being angry at corporate evils is appropriate and feels
more
normal than grieving for thousands dead. It feels healthier
that we now
think of "the hole" as a building site though I
think we're a REALLY
long way from consensus on what's to be built on the site.
There is a
lot of emotion around it - as one would expect.
But in the background of the news is the dull thrum that these
are
different times. 9/11 is not front page so much any more,
not the first
story in the newscasts. But it is always there, down the line,
in the
back pages, how the world is a little different. Are we getting
ready
to invade Iraq? If not, asks a story, why are we painting
military
trucks tan?
We wouldn't be thinking of invading Iraq if it weren't for
9/11.
The Presidency has been shaped by 9/11. On the cover of one
of the news
magazines is the headline: like father, like son? Good in
war but weak
on the economy? Polls are telling us the President gets good
marks for
defense, poor marks when it comes to the markets.
If I recall correctly, W named Powell his choice as Secretary
of State
prior to the election, a move that gave him a boost. Now the
speculation is about whether Powell will last the term. The
hawks are
winning while Powell is the voice of moderation. Personally,
I won't
feel good if he leaves. Moderation is not a bad thing.
We are facing up to the loss of innocents in Afghanistan but
in a
subdued way while at the same time we keep learning of fresh
horrors
from the time of the Taliban. Winter is approaching again
and the
country is desperate for aid and asking us: how will you help?
9/11 as an event is receding toward the past, very slowly,
but it is the
starting point of the yellow brick road into the future that
we find
ourselves on. The world as we know it becoming a reflection
and a
reaction to that day..
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