Tel-Chai Nation

Well, it looks like there's good news. The memorial design for the heroic passengers on Flight 93 around Pittsburgh will be changed.

However, this does seem to indicate that the whole thing was done deliberately in order to anger people with sense. It reeks of sales through controversy to have someone like this Paul Murdoch try to foist a red crescent design in the shape of the Islamic symbol on the public, ditto CAIR, which also had its involvement. Some Islamists like to try and test people's reactions to see if they can chisel away for more. This could've been one of those tricks, and it's something that's got to be stopped.

On the design Mr. Murdoch was trying to foist, Captain's Quarters has some good thoughts to offer too:

This memorial offends on multiple levels, again whether the offense was intentional or not. It simply does not meet the occasion. While the verdict of the families should have some weight in the approval process, the entire point of this memorial is the national implications of the event, which is why the government will run the memorial and is in charge of its construction and maintenance. A great many of us do not want the Islamic symbolism as a centerpiece for the Flight 93 memorial, but more importantly, we want a memorial that evokes the courageous and inspiring example that they provided with their last breath of life. They didn't teach us to sit around and do nothing, and a memorial that encourages that simply gets it wrong.

And even now, when Murdoch's willing to change it, that does not excuse his prior actions. I'd say he's destined to be remembered as someone who was willing to offend people when he didn't have to. That's certainly how he'll be remembered in my book. And this NY Sun editorial should certainly give a good clue as to what he's really like:

We went to the architect's Web site, where some images of the design are posted. We kept looking for an American flag or some patriotic symbol and just couldn't find any. Perhaps we missed it. We hope so. The revolt on Flight 93 is going to go down in American history as one of the great moments, and "Let's roll" is going to rank with the retort that General McAuliffe, surrounded by the enemy en route to Bastogne, delivered to the Nazi demand for surrender, "Nuts."

So Murdoch doesn't have anything patriotic on his website, does he? Well now, that's certainly telling. If not, then he's obviously not the man for the job of designing a memorial, is he?

And even if the design will be changed, as Captain's Quarters also says:

Removing the crescent will handle the most objectionable part of the design. However, unless the design does more to memorialize the way these forty civilians galvanized the nation into action instead of defeatist paralysis, it will still do an injustice to their memory. The other elements of the Murdoch design sound and look beautiful, but communicate passivity and detachment. These qualities embody the antithesis of Flight 93, which demand action and involvement of all Americans in defiance of terrorism and the defense of the nation.

And, like I said before, Murdoch's willingness to modify does not excuse the fact that he resorted to a cheap, offensive stunt in the first place.

Also available at Basil's Blog. Others on the subject that took place this week include Mark Steyn (Hat tip: The Strata-Sphere), Brainster's Blog.

Labels: dhimmitude, islam, jihad, terrorism, United States