Peggy Noonan: The Day That Changed Everything

Wall Street Journal ^ | Monday, June 2, 2003 | PEGGY NOONAN

[presidio9]

This is a book about love. That's an odd thing to say about a collection that spans 9/11/01 to 9/11/02, and that centers on the attacks on America. But the primary emotion I felt in those days was a love, or a tender sense of appreciation, for everyone who played a part in the drama--the dead, the survivors, the firemen and the heroes on the planes, the families left behind and their shaken neighbors down the block. For us. September 11 changed everyone, and for me, among the changes was one that had a professional impact. It liberated me to include in my work what I felt but had not always expressed: the idea that people are precious, that they're beautiful and deserving of honor and respect. And the knowledge that we are all brothers and sisters together, whatever our circumstances. Before 9/11, I held these convictions but they did not always seem pertinent, or appropriate, to what I was writing. But after 9/11, I felt free to say what I thought and let it frame my work, and even become an engine for that work.

[presidio9]

Welcom back Peggy. Sorry you can't stay.

[presidio9]

ping

[RayBob]

"Welcom back Peggy. Sorry you can't stay."

I don't get it...why can't she stay?

[presidio9]

She won't be back till the fall. Working on another book :-(

[RayBob]

Didn't know that. Thanks for clarifying.

[RayBob]

Courtesy bump.

Wonder why no activity?

[Tamzee]

We miss you, Ms. Noonan...

[ricpic]

Only Peggy can talk about love, and other squishy stuff, without making me squirm. She has a precious gift.

[Ditter]

Peggy is right again. Tragedy clears the floor of all the unimportant details that clutter our lives. The important things are brought to the forefront. We no longer notice if our shoes are the perfect color to go with our suit or if the drapes match the sofa. All we care about is our loved ones & that they are safe.

[Gritty]

All we care about is our loved ones & that they are safe.

That's because you're a "normal" person.

Liberals care about tragedy because they hope they can mount the aftermath into their own political power.

[corkoman]

It liberated me to include in my work what I felt but had not always expressed: the idea that people are precious, that they're beautiful and deserving of honor and respect

She is a beautiful person.

[Abynormal]

What a beautiful writer. Let me see....
should I purchase a book from a New York woman who expresses the human spirit that will uplift me and bring me hope?
or should I purchase a book from a New York woman who bargained a 'deal' and was paid up front to express trash about how only she thinks things?
Not too tough a choice.
BTW, I heard the Peggy Noonan was offered a program on MSNBC.

[cgk]

bflr

[presidio9]

or should I purchase a book from a New York woman who bargained a 'deal' and was paid up front to express trash about how only she thinks things?

I think you mean "Illinois woman." Peggy could beat her. She should run.

[Bommer]

Hitlery is NOT a New York women.....I'm not sure she's EVEN a women!

[Pagey]

I understand she's finishing up her book on Pope John Paul the 2nd,with whom she met a few years back.She talked about that experience on C-Span last year and how it affected her;she had pictures too.She was completely overwhelmed by meeting him and it was really nice to hear her speak so passionately about that trip.

[TruthNtegrity]

I heard part of that C-span show on radio, late one night, and in it, Peggy discussed finding her religion, but in a different way than she ever had before. I can't wait to read this current book, and look forward to the one on Pope Paul.

I took the time today to thank someone who became a friend, post 9/11. Our circumstances of meeting were different from anyone else I had met in my life, and although miles now separate us, because I wanted to open up my heart, become open to new experiences, wanted to reach out and create new friendships, perhaps a new family, I will forever be thankful for the response of this special person. I don't know what our future holds for us. Does anyone ever really know where a friendship will lead? But I do know that I treasure this relationship. That he was gentle with the me that was unused to being open with my heart and mind, and that he showed me a gentleness and kindness I have never known before, is something I will always appreciate.

I know that 9/11 changed me. I know that I am a very different person from the one I was on Sept. 10th. If I could, I would wish every person who died on 9/11 to be alive today, for every family struck by that tragedy to be made whole, but that can't be. It happened. And I think it is a sign of our humanity if we can recognize that it changed us, and that it changed us for the better. This is the perfect "payback" for those villians who thought they were damaging us. We are stronger, better, more human, more tender, more caring, more patriotic than we were before.

Out of the destruction of steel in NYC, PA and the Pentagon has come a stronger, better American. We have transcended tragedy, resolved to fight terrorism, and made our personal lives more real, more open because we realized what we each could have lost on that day, and now focus our eyes on those who are around us, holding them close, and cherishing them. God bless America.

[Fawnn]

I hadn't really read much by Peggy Noonan until I started reading her columns after 9/11. They made me think. They made me cry. (I'd read them aloud to my daughter when she'd call on her cell phone during her drive home from work!) I came to know her and love her for her beautiful spirit. (That sounds far more New Age liberal than I intend it to, but hopefully y'all get what I mean.)

I bought her book on Hitlery and loved it!

I've since seen Peggy Noonan on Fox (Hannity and Colmes) and on booktv, etc. She has physical beautiful, too. Closer to my age than she is to Ann Coulter's age, so she doesn't fit what's usually the standard for beauty, and even though I'd much rather gaze at W in his flight suit, I find Peggy beautiful all the same.

The liberals love to mock her. (Sarah Vowell comes to mind. I'll admit, Sarah Vowell's writing can be funny. But her looks on the other hand,...)

In other words, if you haven't figured it out already, you can add me to the long list of people who'll be glad when she returns to writing her weekly column for OpinionJournal.com.

[presidio9]

And the best thing was when she moved to Monday morning. She was my inspiration to get out of bed and start the week.

[Fawnn]

And the best thing was when she moved to Monday morning. She was my inspiration to get out of bed and start the week.

I agree! (It's going to be a long, hot summer without her.)