Columnists: Russel Smith, Sept. 7th

   Russel Smith's 9/11 anniversary article was titled In horrific circumstances, art can still imitate life. It takes a look at how everyone, and specifically artists, were feeling after the tragedy. As often happens after a monumental event, people evaluate their lives and find that they, and what they are doing, is unimportant and trivial in comparison to what is going on the world. Smith's point of view is interesting because it comes from the artistic perspective. How everyone believed art would never be the same after 9/11. This column is neither completely accurate nor completely bias, it is simply how the writer saw the events after 9/11 unfold and the conclusions he came to. He is doing what many columnist did on the 10th anniversary of the event: show us that although it was a horrible event, life goes on and people are allowed to think (and write) about other things besides the tragedy. It is possible that Smith's views could be seen as inflaming the issue because 9/11 is such a sensitive topic and some people feel that to even have an opinion on the event is disrespectful to the victims. Smith also has some insights this. Is dramatizing the event and profiting off that dramatization disrespectful? Art has always been used to help people understand and come to terms with tragedy. Art is the way the next generation is educated about past events and the way the world remembers them. As long as we understand that the art is a dramatization of the events is it really disrespectful?