It’s 9/11. Does corporate America care?

Posted by Matt Purdue

Walking to work this morning on Manhattan’s East Side, I passed the fire house on East 29th St. I’ve passed this firehouse dozens of times, not thinking much about it unless one of the firefighters was out testing the heavy-duty circular saw they use for rescues. This tool sounds not unlike a chainsaw, and whenever I hear it I would wonder what the neighbors must think waking up to this racket.

But today was different. The crew of this firehouse, home to Engine 16 and Ladder 7, was standing at attention in the mouth of the firehouse door, in their dress blues, silent. I figured today was inspection day or something. But then, halfway down the block, it hit me. Today. 9/11. The emotion literally stopped me in my tracks. Although I don’t know any of the men and women of Engine 16/Ladder 7, I know they suffered deeply on 9/11/01.  Ladder 7 lost, yes, seven firefighters that day.

As I continued my walk to work, I noticed the rest of the neighborhood going about its workaday business. I began to wonder if many of us have forgotten the horror of that day, and the death and the tragedy of so many first-responders running into burning buildings. As the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, I would challenge corporate America, and any of our clients reading this, to think long and hard about a campaign to make certain that this country never forgets that day. 

Over the past eight years, we have seen disjoined efforts to declare 9/11 a national day of remembrance, with limited effect obviously. In Texas, believe it or not, there’s controversy over a bill to make 9/11 a holiday for firefighters. There’s been talk of transforming the Labor Day holiday into a commemoration of 9/11. There’s even a Facebook group set up to support the idea.

Today I’d like to challenge America’s corporations to take up the banner. Think of the impact 10 large companies could make if they each added .5% to their public relations budgets to fund a national campaign to make 9/11 a federally-sanctioned holiday. Defense contractors, military suppliers and what’s left of the nation’s automotive industry spring to my mind as prime candidates to lead this effort.

So, how about it?