Only in America...

would the tv show raise more heated discussion,
than the original hardcover release... * **

(Wish I would have kept the link to Tom Blackburn's column; he was one of those purchasing from the first-day stacks, if I recall correctly, daily wading through it.)
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Speaking of the PB Post, if you are a big World Trade Center fan, spread the good word and check out this link:
Keeping It Real.

I've never met Theresa Golden. Don't know how old she is or whether she shares my disdain for the hip-hop culture, raunchy rap and bootylicious music videos. What this woman did recently, however, convinces me that we are "sho nuff" coming from the same place in our desire to celebrate good black men.

Theresa Golden is the aunt of Jason Thomas, a 32-year-old ex-Marine sergeant who is a security officer at the Ohio Supreme Court in Columbus. I'm not surprised if you've never heard of him. I hadn't, until his aunt brought him to public attention.

...

After meeting Sgt. Thomas, the producer added, "He's the greatest guy ... the kind of hero you want." To me, that apology rings hollow.

Even in our race-conscious culture that too often stereotypes black men as drug addicts and thugs, how Sgt. Thomas' racial identity could have gone unnoticed and unreported - whether or not his given name was known - astonishes me.

World Trade Center will be seen around the world. It will become a symbol of America's resiliency after the 9/11 slaughter. The fact that a modest, strong, brave black man served our country without thought for his own safety needs to be a visible part of that record. His altruistic profile can counter the negative media images of black youths that appear daily. So we all should thank Aunt Theresa.

Each day, I scan the news for pictures of inspiring black men. Their stories rarely are spotlighted without outlining in excruciating detail any past transgression they may have committed from time of birth***, often to the extent that their accomplishments are diminished or rendered incidental to any positive news coverage. Given that painful reality, I want Mr. Shamberg and director Oliver Stone to prepare a trailer that identifies Jason Thomas as the once-anonymous hero and require that this information be permanently attached to the film.

In times like these, when catastrophes natural and man-made daily strain race relations, America needs another black hero.****

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*of the 9-11 Commission Report,
released in July 2004.

**Not that there's anything wrong with that;
I'm as populist as the next.

***She's not being dramatic. She lives in
South Florida, where the papers are
full of such stories, indeed.

****And they diss the " MSM "... try to think of
of it not as an ugly letter label, but as coming
from a human writer.