Don't Watch "Path to 9/11" -- See "Inside 9/11" Instead

DESPITE ALL THE HOOPLA surrounding the controversial “Path to 9/11” ABC special, I have no interest in seeing the much-maligned docudrama. Instead I watched the National Geographic Channel’s Inside 9/11, an update to the Emmy-award-winning documentary that timelines in pinpointing detail the events of September 11.

The film aired last night in two parts: “War on America” at 7pm and “Zero Hour” at 8pm. I caught the “Zero Hour” as it repeated after primetime at 11pm and was taken aback on its accuracy and the personal stories interviewees told.

The National Geographic Channel doesn’t seem to list a repeating of the episodes on its website but you should check out Inside911.com. In fact, you should check out most of NGC’s network programming—in my humble opinion, they have some great shows and they seem to be what the Discovery Channel and TLC used to be 5 to 6 years ago.

9/11: Five Years Later

IT’S BEEN five years. I can hardly believe it. Like so many others during that day, the memories are still vivid. I can remember the book I was reading on my way to work – Big Trouble by Dave Barry (which incidentally involved a nuclear bomb on a plane). I remember seeing the smoke billow out from one of the towers on my morning hike to the office. I remember that, despite being a little more than a mile away from lower Manhattan, we were all watching CNN to find out more info. I remember hiking up the West Side Highway and only hearing the sirens from ambulances, police cruisers and fire trucks. I remember feeling completely powerless and fearing all this could be a grander scheme for an even more disastrous attack, ala nuclear bomb in Times Square. I remember wanting to go home.

I was lucky I didn’t lose anyone on September 11, 2001. None of my family or friends worked at the World Trade Center. But I do remember commuting on the bus and right before entering the Lincoln Tunnel I would occassionally gaze upon the those dual skyscrapers and reflect on the symbolism with which they represented: human ingenuity, democratic values, and the limitless height the American spirit can soar.

I don’t have much more to say than what most other people have already said. Although I will mention this: because of its demise, the World Trade Center more strongly represents the values of Western democracy and American liberty – and how in the blink of an eye those values can quickly disappear.