Op-Eds
Posted October 13, 2005
From the Wall Street Journal
IFC Wasn't Attempting to 'Blame America First'
By John Bridgeland
Dear Editor:
Debra Burlingame recounts two conversations we had earlier this year about the International Freedom Center. The Saturday Interview of October 1 does not capture them, and I would like to set the record straight.
I called Ms. Burlingame to let her know that I was leading the “service and civic engagement” component of the IFC – the purpose of which was to tell the stories of service and sacrifice that emerged on and after 9/11 and to connect millions of expected visitors to the site to more opportunities to serve their neighbors and nation. I explained that I believed this was a significant part of the story of 9/11 – that this tragic event had spawned a feeling of unity and service among Americans and people of many nations and that the site should be more than a place of mourning. She told me that she had no objection to the service part of the IFC. When she asked me about other educational exhibits in the IFC, I told her that I had reviewed the plans for the IFC and that the IFC was in no way attempting to take a “blame America first mentality.” I encouraged her to get the actual facts about the IFC before she made her judgments, because I sincerely believed she would be inspired by the IFC’s vision, which was patriotic and supportive of the best of America’s ideals.
All of this is now history, and the IFC will not be built at Ground Zero. I do wish for something hopeful to emerge at Ground Zero so this place will tell the full story of 9/11 – both the tragedy and the service and sacrifice that helped transcend the suffering.
Sincerely,
John Bridgeland
Washington, D.C.
The writer is Former Director, White
House Domestic Policy Council & USA
Freedom Corps.