Today on AirTalk, we consider the role 9/11 will have for Americans in the upcoming years, take a look at a plan to use library cards as IDs for illegal immigrants in Los Angeles, discuss how potential teacher evaluations are playing out for the LAUSD, see how the battle for voter ID laws is heating up across the country, and flip through a book stressing the connection between secularism and religious freedom.
How should we commemorate the 9/11 tragedy in America?
As more time passes since September 11, 2001, the United States has shown an increasing amount of perspectives for the significant date. Initially, and for several years afterward, there was an overwhelming sense of shock followed by collective grief.
But, 11 years later, it’s fairly safe to say that most have moved beyond such intense feelings.
RELATED: Tell us how 9/11 changed your life, and we'll share your story
Even the media reflects this in some ways, as last year, for the tenth anniversary, there was wall-to-wall coverage from New York City on many major and minor outlets. This year, however, it seems to be more of a simple commemoration of the date’s events.
The economic crisis and its importance in this year’s election has probably overshadowed the threat of terrorism for most Americans. Maybe geography has something to do with it too; for those physically distant from the attacks, it was easier not to fixate on the tragedy and its after effects, allowing them to move on.
But what about the people who still proudly sport “Never Forget” paraphernalia? Is it a simple personality type to maintain such reverence? What about family members of those in the military who have served either in Iraq or Afghanistan? Are they more likely to be intensely proud of the war on terror, or do they feel it’s time for their fighting men and women come home?
FROM THE PHONES: How callers reflect on the anniversary of 9/11
Diane Hare of Redondo Beach was a burn nurse for a county hospital in upstate New York. She called in and emotionally recounted her experience being on call that day for her first emergency response shift:
"I went through emotions of being so scared by what I was seeing. I saw the towers fall on television," she described, holding back tears. "I pulled it together expecting patients, and we didn't get any. I was at the Clark Burn Center upstate, biggest burn center in the state. We thought we would get someone, and we found out there wasn't anybody left."
Her commemoration ritual has remained the same; she takes the day off each year to remember what it's like to be a health care provider and what it takes to get through those situations. She still works as a nurse to this day.
Scott called from East L.A. to say that his sentiments have changed over time. As a medical student in Philadelphia with many friends in New York, he said he took it personally when seeing the destruction and how it affected his friends.
"I can say for certain that 9/11 of 2011 was the worst day of my life," he began. "There was really a ground swell of anger that translated into essentially a podium of war; I wanted to see payback as much as everybody else. With time, 9/11 has come to represent maybe a sense of betrayal as well, a sense that I was misled in the context of my anger and my grief – I was misled by my own government to support wars that crushed us in ways beyond the effects of 9/11."
Sylvia in Eagle Rock looks back on the tragedy as the day when childhood ended for her. "I was 14; it was my first week of high school," she said. "That was kind of the first time I could conceptualize evil was more than a biblical context. ... I was seeing it for the first time, and that's something you can't take back – the sense of powerlessness that day."
Lee, calling from Pacific Palisades, said she was standing on the street on the way to the gym when she saw the second plane hit. She added that on this day, she thinks about how unpredictable life can be.
"A car came by with the bullhorn and said, 'The pentagon's been hit, the pentagon's been hit.' I think people underestimated how terrifying it was to feel that maybe WWIII was breaking out and bombs were going to fall on our heads. I didn't know where I should go ... Everyone on the street was just at a lost," she remembered. "I think it's very important to remember how fragile we are, how vulnerable we are, and how in an instant, your life can change."
Can multi-use library cards provide legal ID for undocumented residents?
Finding a way to provide Los Angeles’ large undocumented immigrant population with some kind of government identification card has led city officials to consider an innovative solution already at use in other California cities. Undocumented immigrants cannot legally obtain driver’s licenses or state ID cards, but Bay Area cities like San Francisco, Oakland and Richmond already issue identification cards to their undocumented residents which allow them to open bank accounts and avail themselves of other municipal services.
The plan now under consideration by Los Angeles officials would hinge on a multi-use ID card issued through city libraries that would feature the cardholder’s name, address and photograph. The card would also serve as a debit card for the region’s estimated 300,000 undocumented residents who are traditionally at risk for exploitation by businesses and criminals that prey on residents who are only able to use cash. Critics say that the program would provide an opportunity for terrorists to obtain U.S. identification as well as spark an increase in illegal immigration.
How should Los Angeles officials address the issue of identification for undocumented workers? Is administering an ID card through the library system the best way to bring undocumented residents out of the shadows?
Guests:
Richard Alarcón, L.A. City Councilmember for District 7 - the 7th City Council District covering the northeast section of the San Fernando Valley; Alarcón initiated this proposal
Tim Donnelly, California State Assemblyman, (R-59th District which includes San Bernardino and San Dimas
As Chicago teachers strike, LAUSD seeks resolution with union over teacher evaluations
As over 20,000 Chicago teachers strike for a second day over compensation and job evaluations, L.A. Unified is set to vote on a proposal by board member Steve Zimmer that aims to exclude student test scores from individual teacher evaluations.
Zimmer asserts that standardized testing of students for teacher evaluations, by itself, is too limited and is asking for a more rounded evaluation process. Zimmer’s critics, however, maintain that his proposal may delay the needed implementation of standardized test scores for assessing educators.
Meanwhile, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is strongly opposed to using test scores for measuring teacher performance and continues its attempts to block the use of these evaluation methods. Will teachers in LA follow in the footsteps of their Chicago peers and go on strike? What can the LAUSD learn from the situation in Chicago?
Guests:
Howard Blume, Education Reporter, Los Angeles Times
Tamar Galatzan, Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member, District 3
Legal battles over voter rules heat up in Ohio and Pennsylvania
One of the recurring themes of the 2012 election season has been the debate over voter fraud and its existence. Republicans say yes and have generally been the ones to move on tightening voter laws, while Democrats say no and have moved to make voting as easy as possible.
The debate is being battled in dozens of court cases in states across the country, and there are likely to be more. Two of the most watched cases have been in the swing states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, both of which have appeals being heard this week.
In Ohio, early voting was restored and restrictive voter registration rules were stuck down - the case is under appeal at the Sixth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals and may go as far as the Supreme Court under emergency review. In Pennsylvania, the voter identification law was upheld by a state judge, and now the State Supreme Court will hear appeal arguments. Other states who’ve battled over voter laws this year are Texas, South Carolina, Florida, and Wisconsin.
The result remains to be seen, but as the election draws close, what effect could this have not only on the election, but on the voters? How are the courts likely to rule on these cases, and what could it mean for the future of the Voter Rights Act and federal oversight of state election practices?
Guests:
Justin Levitt, Associate Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, specializing in election law
Heather Heidelbaugh, Co-Chair, Republican National Lawyers Association; Partner and attorney, Babst, Calland, Clements & Zomnir, P.C. in Pittsburgh; Councilwoman At-Large, Allegheny County (Pittsburgh)
The case for modern secularism in America
Religion has become a major front in the American culture war. On one hand, believers champion their assertion that the U.S. is a republic founded on Christian values. But the growing ranks of non believers contend that religion has caused as much harm as good over the course of history. These polarized positions have made common ground harder to come by. Author Jacques Berlinerblau’s new book, How to Be Secular: A Call to Arms for Religious Freedom, makes a case for secularism in modern America. The book illustrates a common sense approach to bridging the gap and debunking the belief of the faithful that secularism is a bad word at the same time that it throws some water on the dogmatic atheists’ movement that can be militant about non-belief. Berlinerblau writes that there is room for everyone at the table and that we all stand to benefit by respectfully keeping church and state separate. How is it possible to govern without faith and still allow for it? What is the correct mixture of church and state in America?
Guests:
Jacques Berlinerblau, author of “How to Be Secular: A Call to Arms for Religious Freedom” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt); professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Services and frequent contributor to the Washington Post’s “On Faith” column
Dr. Mel Robeck, Professor of Church History and Ecumenics at Fuller Seminary