One Love

Audio Project

I did a few test runs with my recording and different songs. Because my project has to do with September 11 and its various tragedies, it was really difficult to decide on which type of song to use. I considered using a few songs to represent the different religions, but three songs mixed together didn’t seem to fit the needed mood and tone of the recording – its too serious of a matter. I chose to upload the version with U2’s “One” in the background. I ultimately chose this version because I feel that the words to this song helped the most in getting the overall message out – that us, as humans, are all “one”.

My audio project is a combination of victim stories and one survivor from 9/11. The individual cases I chose, to me, helped show the diversity of the different groups yet the similarity of their pain. Adam, who is a Christian survivor of the World Trade Center attack was similar to the rest of the people I mention in that he had a family or significant other, he felt extreme emotion during and after the attack, and he/his family will be affected by 9/11 for the rest of his life. Adam and the comments he made are extremely interesting to me…the pain and suffering he will forever feel is definitely real and understandable, but what I found so fascinating in particular was his “message” to the terrorists. After such a tragic event that he experiences first hand, Adam relates 9/11 to democracy and freedom rather than concentrating on the pain and suffering of the nation as a whole. He calls 9/11 “the ultimate failure of terrorism against The United States”, stating that the first plane crash he experienced was when “democracy won”. To me this sounds almost ignorant, like a competition almost, America or democracy vs. the rest of the world. Ignorance however was one of the points I wanted to address… ignorance not just pertaining to 9/11 and what happened then and for the future, but ignorance to the rest of us around us who suffered too.

I’ve gotten various emails in the past 7 years about stupid conspiracies that have to do with no Jewish people going to work on 9/11, somehow everyone of the Jewish faith planned behind everyone else’s back to not be part of such a horrible day. I chose four Jewish people who were either married or getting married and who left families behind. This was a direct response to those who forget or don’t think that Jews too were part of 9/11 – their family’s pain and suffering, just like Adam’s and his family’s, will live on forever.

Muslims living in America no doubt had to deal with a drastic change in the way their fellow country-men and women looked at and treated them after 9/11. In fact, they might possibly be the easiest group to forget in about when it comes to suffering in regards to 9/11. The ignorance surrounding 9/11 and Muslims in general has left Muslims who suffered first hand this day to feel pain and loss as well as hatred from others around who unfairly blame or associate them with the terrorists who were responsible for this day. My point in mentioning Baraheen, Mohammed, Rahma, and Haleema were to clearly show that just like the Christians and the Jews, Muslims were victims of 9/11 – not only that, their pain was just as real and traumatic as anyone else’s would be. Almost to say, hey not only did Muslims suffer on this day, but they’re human too!

The ignorance we all naturally have as humans is something that can be dealt with. It is easy to forget that those around us have real problems and pain because we get so caught up with our own. I wanted to create something to remind anyone who listens to it that not only did ALL types of Americans suffer on 9/11 (and still do), but we have to make a conscious effort to take our “blinders” off and feel for one another on a human level to get somewhere as “one”. The U2 song, in my interpretation preaches love for all and reminds us that in the end we’re all part of the same race, the same world, the same planet. For there to be distinctions among us, especially during times where we need to come together (as we did on 9/11), there will only be hindrance of the process to recovery. None of us come from the same roots and same place but that does not mean we can’t act as if we do. Maybe that’s the point, maybe being “one” is what we’re here for. Here’s my message in the form of lyrics from “One”:

Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
Well we
Hurt each other
Then we do it again
You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt
One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other…