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Letter from America

Suffering and silence

Finally the moment has arrived. As new terrorist warnings are daily delivered from the various governmental offices of the USA, as Wall Street holds its breath over the fragile economy, and as Osama Bin Laden remains presumed in hiding, now, at last, the excavation has finished. 'Ground Zero', the site where the World Trade Centre once stood, is clear.

Now comes the big question. What to do with it? In typical New York fashion, various developers are already touting the site as a 'fantastic opportunity'. Others pale at the idea of the scene of so much carnage, and emotional trauma, being thought of in terms of expensive square feet. New York needs the office space (The World Trade Centre used to house an acre of office space per floor), but many would rather the glass boxes were stationed elsewhere now.

PC monument?

What kind of monument, though, could you place at the former site of the World Trade Center? In Washington DC Maya Lin designed a large granite 'V' as a commemoration of the suffering in Vietnam. It was controversial at the time but is now the most visited tourist site in that city. What would you have in New York?

Already one idea has fallen by the wayside. A famous picture of firemen raising a battered American flag over the ruins was proposed to be turned into a famous statue. The problem was that all the firemen were in historical reality white - and the suggestion involved airbrushing out this politically uncomfortable fact and replacing it with the mandatory politically correct representative from several different ethnic groups. As you can imagine that raised more problems than it solved.

Another recent suggestion is that the twin towers are replaced by the tallest building in the world, with a statue at base. Developers find a way forward. Others might not like the commercialism.

It will be interesting to see what happens. One correspondent commenting on this has recommended that nothing be done at all. Instead there should be an empty space. A moment of 'profundity'.

These foolish things

I think it's unlikely that that happens. If it did, in a sense, it might have biblical support.

In the book of Job, as the mystery of suffering is unravelled, those who speak say foolish things. Job is righteous, yet he suffers. There is no answer given in Job. Job simply encounters God. And he is silent as a result. 'My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you' (Job 42.5). Job at last is brought to silence, contemplation, and a spiritual encounter with the living God. He doesn't get an answer; he gets God.

Suffering is a mystery. Its monument is not a philosophical explanation but humility before the living God. Perhaps an empty space - at least for a moment - is no bad idea for the capital of world commerce.

Josh Moody, Connecticut