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September
12, 2008
Library
remembers 9/11
GOFFSTOWN -
The town's public library remembered September 11 the best way it knew how.
At midnight Sept. 11, the lights went on at the library, which stayed open for 24 hours in what the library says was a subtle yet forceful memorial to the terrorist attacks of seven years ago.
"We represent true freedom, which is antithetical to terrorism," said Sandy Whipple, an adult services and outreach coordinator for the library. "It's really access to human knowledge in one way or another and it's free and unfettered." The round-the-clock service marked the start of a month of events that are meant to get people thinking about the responsibilities of being a citizen of the United States.
"Do you get to call yourself a patriot if you wrap yourself in the flag and salute the flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance?" Whipple said. "Is that enough? Is that enough to call yourself a patriot? Or do you need to engage yourself?"
Next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., a New Hampshire Humanities Council speaker will lecture on Islam for the "non-Muslim," comparing the religion with Christianity and Judaism. On September 24, at the same time, the library will air "The War Tapes," a documentary filmed from the front lines of Iraq by four New Hampshire National Guardsmen.
For the duration of the month, the library will have an exhibit from the Long Island Coalition Against Censorship. The program wraps up on September 30 with a discussion on the book "The True Patriot."
The events fall under the umbrella of "The September Project," a national and global initiative among hundreds of public libraries from Greece to Singapore driven at fostering dialogue on the themes of freedom, democracy, citizenship, and patriotism.
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