What it Means to "Rewrite" History

¶ … age of political correctness, there are those who are attempting to rewrite history into something that never happened. One such case is the statue commemorating the firefighters of September 11th. (Windle, 2002) The Fire Department of New York City is planning to erect a 19-foot bronze statue at its Brooklyn headquarters in honor of the 343 firefighters who died on September 11th. This statue is receiving criticism among several groups throughout the city.

The statue is "based on the famous photograph of three firefighters raising the American flag on the rubble at the World Trade Center site (Windle, 2002)." The three firefighters in the photo are white, but the statue has been changed to depict one white man, one Hispanic man and one black man (Windle, 2002). Political Correctness Some of the firefighters and their families are upset by the statue and look at it as the city's way to rewrite history by attempting to be politically correct.

The idea to change the statue is being defending by "the Fire Department, the artists who made the statue and the property-management company that owns the department headquarters building (Windle, 2002)." The Fire Department feels that since all races and ethnicities died in the attacks, no one group should be honored. Firefighters, however, feel this isn't a racial matter and the statue is an insult to three men in the photo.

The Men in the Photo The three men in the picture are upset and disappointed that the statue has become a political issue instead of historical. Their attorneys are attempting to stop production of the statue and have contacted both the Fire Department and management company (Windle, 2002). Symbolism The Vulcan Society, "an organization that represents black firefighters" feels the symbolism of the statue is more important than the who is actually depicted and the diversity should be considered more than factual correctness (Windle, 2002).

Changing History Those who oppose the statue feel there's more to be considered than just the issue at hand. They feel it's another way to change history.