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Wrong heroes being recognized

It has been nearly six months since the tragedies of Sept. 11. And apparently, with the way the nation as a whole is acting, America is finally moving on.

However, flash back to that sunny September day. When our country was most in need of a hero, one man stepped up. When our country was in distress, one man consoled us. When our country looked as if it was sinking into a bottomless pit, one man saved us from doom.

This man, most famous on Sept. 11 for heading directly for Ground Zero and putting a simple surgical mask over his mouth to protect himself from the deadly fumes of the collapsed World Trade Center, is former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

After his famous walk to Ground Zero, it seemed as though the nation found someone to cling to. Giuliani began making appearances on talk shows and gracing the covers of magazines. He even beat out Osama bin Laden for Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.”

Sure, it is worth mentioning that he attended around 200 memorial services since 9-11, and consoled many of the families affected by the events, but wasn’t that his job? As a mayor, Giuliani had the responsibility to his citizens to act as a sort of patriarch that people could turn to. A poll conducted by Time Magazine showed his approval rating was well over 90 percent since the attacks, which is great, but not surprising.

The fact that Giuliani took action and was there for his people is not newsworthy-or not as newsworthy as the media made it seem. What would be newsworthy, however, is if Giuliani had not performed that acts of kindness he demonstrated.

The problem is, everyone is treating him like the patron saint of New York. Did everyone forget that the world’s favorite mayor had a publicized affair and was forced out of the mayor’s mansion?

The same can be said for President George W. Bush. While not to the same extent as Giuliani, Bush’s approval rating has also increased dramatically since Sept. 11.

This is ironic because Bush showed up even later at Ground Zero to survey the wreckage and is still receiving much credit for “handling the situation,” even though he did little to aid in the relief effort.

Speaking of benefiting from the terrorism, what happened to media-poster boy Gary Condit after the attacks? It is not possible that he fell off the face of the earth, but it sure seems that way. Many in the general public probably didn’t even know the scandalous congressman ran for re-election in this year’s primary.

Following Sept. 11 and other recent media favorites such as the Enron scandal and the Olympic judging controversy, it seems as if the whole Condit issue will remain a thing of the past.

This just goes to show the power the media can have on public opinion. They are the outlet from which the public receives its news and if the media decides not to report on an issue, it is either forgotten or tossed out.

What is sad is that political leaders like Giuliani and Bush will be the ones remembered as the heroes for Sept. 11. Sure, their acts of kindness were extraordinary and touching.

However, we should all remember when our grandkids ask 40 years down the road who the heroes of Sept. 11 were, that it was the firemen and brave civilians who went back into the burning buildings to help out fellow human beings.

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Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

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