Page 264 - Religion in the Media Age Media, Religion & Culture

Public religious culture post-09/11/01 253

While Jim does not specifically wish to dwell on it spiritually or religiously,
or think that the nation should, he does see it as an incident that carried
important “lessons” for the nation, thus confirming a sense that it was a
defining event, even for Jim. And, Jim clearly sees it to be in a line of medi-
ated events stretching back to the JFK assassination.

So, no, that day will always live with me, but no different than prob-
ably than – I can remember being a very small boy and my mother
running in to the room and telling John Kennedy had been shot. Even
at that time, I didn’t know who JFK was, but then later, seeing all the
stuff on TV, then as a small boy, I realized who he was then. So, that
will be another mark in time that way, and, again, the Lord, person-
ally, I just thought... and this is the way I believe, and I told Sarah
after 9/11, we’re going to see much more feel good movies. And that’s
a natural reaction, and so is that so bad? I mean it’s bad those people
in that situation, but God took them to heaven, so they’re in a better
place than we can ever imagine, and back here is where we’ve got to
learn from this act and how to grow and how to be better people.

Interestingly, Jim’s sense of the significance of the 9/11 events echo some of
the religious critiques domestically and from “abroad.”

Osama bin Laden did it and organized it, but God allowed him to do
it. Did he allow them to do it, so this nation could be humbled, and
say, enough of this sickness on TV, enough of this raping and
pillaging, CEOs getting paid 2 billion dollars and the employees can’t
get a 30 cent raise, you know, to all this heinous unevenness that we
seem to think we are above and beyond, that we don’t have any of
that in this country, and, personally, I think our country is running
rampant

Thus, Jim’s experience of the 9/11 attacks describes its outlines as a defini-
tive ritual of commemoration and mourning. The event and the experience
were unique and galvanic, and are something that he cannot put out of his
mind. He links them with the trajectory of such events and experiences,
stretching back through history. He felt motivated to commemorate them
with his family, and evoked reflection on the meaning of those relation-
ships. The events evoked ritual acts, even a year later, but more
importantly were a liminal moment of reflection and criticism. They were
also linked very much to a set of common discourses and debates about
their political and moral significance.
If I am right, the components of this emerging civil religion of commem-
oration and mourning involve both media practice and “real-life” practice.
A set of conventions of media coverage of events like 9/11 has emerged,