A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found few Americans plan to observe
the upcoming 9/11 anniversary in a formal way, though the majority
still regards the terror attack as the most memorable event in
their lifetime.
The poll, released in
Washington on
Monday, found 71 percent of Americans called 9/11 the most
memorable news event of their lifetime.
Asked whether 9/11 changed the way they live, 29 percent said
yes -- up from 18 percent five years ago.
However, only 6 percent said they would observe Tuesday's
anniversary in a formal way, such as attending a memorial event or
taking the day off.
Most of them, 71 percent, -- said they would mark it informally,
perhaps by praying, keeping a moment of silence or watching news
coverage.
Almost one-quarter said they didn't plan to observe it at
all.
Edward Linenthal, a University of Indiana scholar who has
written about memorials in US history, says a certain loss of focus
is inevitable on "the in-between anniversaries" whose years don't
end in 5 or 0.
"Like any event, even Pearl Harbor, the more time goes by, the
less central it becomes to our experience," says Robert Thompson, a
Syracuse University professor who studies US popular culture.
(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2007)
