Prayer and pity for loss is a cleansing thing but it is fire of outrage than fuels forward motion. It dawned on me in the buildup to the nonstop theater of [9/11] anniversary angst how manipulative sentimentality can be. Those whose goal it is to make us miserable weaken our resolve. Those who convince us that we are cold and unfeeling if we even for a moment entertain thoughts of justice, and yes, revenge, seek to disarm us. They seek to subjugate us by making us inadequate to any task other than weeping and rending our garments.

Lucianne Goldberg