In the shadow of frustration from the blogging community the overwhelming bad press from the ABC/Disney disgust overlapped publicity of an amazing documentary on CBS that aired Sunday Evening.
CBS describes the film on their website as
On September 11, 2001, filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet were filming a documentary on a rookie New York City firefighter when they noticed a plane overhead. That plane would hit the World Trade Center. The firefighter and the Naudets rushed immediately to the scene. The Naudets filmed throughout Sept. 11 and the days afterward from the firemen's perspective, as it became clear to them that this was the only known footage from inside the Twin Towers that day.
This film has apparently been show several times but I've never seen it before nor did I hear anything about it until the Sunday morning news shows when I learned that the film had been denounced by the American Family Association because it contains profanity.
The AFA set out a message to its flock saying:
It is time to tell CBS and the other networks that enough is enough!
Not content with all the profanity already on TV, CBS has decided to air the profanity-laden unedited version of "9/11" on Sept. 10. The decision by CBS is a slap in the face to the FCC and Congress, which recently raised indecency fines to $325,000 per incident.
"9/11," which will be shown in prime-time, contains a tremendous amount of hardcore profanity. CBS has stated they have not, and will not make any cuts in the amount and degree of profanity. CBS will ignore the law. The network is suing the FCC over the indecency law, saying they should be able to show whatever they desire whenever they desire. CBS wants no limits." AFA Press Release
Apparently reality is just as spooky to them as lies are to us!
But my point is not to denounce those who denounce but rather to give my props to firefighters.
My dad's a fireman. And while I get pretty annoyed with him at frequent intervals I've never respected or admired someone more when it comes to service.
My dad isn't liked very much in the fire house. He's disagreeable and he loves to bash George Bush at every opportunity and when he gains custody of the remote control on the firehouse TV he always turns it to CSPAN Book TV when everyone else wants to watch 007 or Golf or all of the above. When I bought him the WalMart Documentary that Brave New Films did he took it to the firehouse and tried to make them watch it. He's not a popular guy.
But about six months ago I was trying to help someone out with the IAFF questionnaire for endorsement and I learned a lot more about the way my dad views his job.
On April 19, 1994 it was well into my dad's first year on the job at the Oklahoma City Fire Department. He was off duty that day and that morning had gone for a run. I think I remember him telling me he had his headphones on as he was running but he felt something - the ground shake like a small earthquake. He turned back and started running back to the house and that was how he found out about our federal building bombing.
I don't remember him ever talking about what happened what he had to do but I remember hearing about how he rushed down there - that he went to dig people out - and that all over the US people sent firefighters to help us find people living or dead. LAFD, NYFD, Missouri, Kansas, Chicago, tons of fire departments sent groups of their own to help us. Our dogs worked round the clock and we had to have vets on hand to wrap their paws because they would get nails and glass stuck in them - so some group made little leather boots to put on their feet so they wouldn't get hurt.
When my dad talks about being a fireman he's very matter of fact about it. "When the shit is hitting the fan" he says "you see people running away. We're the ones who are going in." It seems counterintuitive - and getting my mind around the idea of that exact point is when I began to really grasp the reason that firefighters have so much love and respect across the country.
Everybody hears kids say they want to be a fireman when they grow up. Sure part of it has to do with the big red engine or the cute Dalmatian, the helmet and boots, the big hose, the larger than life grown-ups that we trust... but really its as close as a normal kid regardless of economic status, race, religion, or political affiliation can get to be a superhero when they grow-up. Because they're the one's going in when everyone else is running away.
I watched piece of this documentary last night while I was wondering around the house, and what I saw was close to home. In the faces of men and women young and old I saw both fear and determination as they ran against the crowd. NPFA has a thing my dad told me is called "Two in, Two out" where if there are two people inside the fire there are two more outside with their gear on ready to relieve the two that are inside. On 9-11 no one waited around.
Footage inside the towers directing people to the doors. And then the aftermath. The silence and sadness as they all waited to see which officers were still alive. I listened to the guilt from the survivors for their lost comrades and too for everyone above the floors that they couldn't get to.
And its five years later and a lot has been done aimed at making things more efficient. Gobs of money have been thrown at homeland security. Gobs of training done to have hazmat training for firefighters in the event of chemical and biological attacks. And while most of the money is sent to big target cities like New York, LA, Chicago - dad said that all the money in the world hasn't made it any easier on the individual firefighter. Dad says he's never seen any of that here. He doesn't have a hazmat suit he said he doesn't know exactly what he should do to protect himself in the event of a nuclear attack or a biological disaster. "There is too much bureaucracy that none of it really trickles down to the local level to take care of things like training or equipment for those situations." I know this is different in NY and LA but I'm sorry I care about my old man's safety first.
You see - the lifespan of a firefighter is about 55 years. Breathing in massive amounts of smoke and burning chemicals and god only knows what else isn't all that healthy it turns out. Firefighters get pretty good benefits - but Dad doesn't care about himself because he'll be dead before me and his family - he wants to know that we'll be taken care of and right now the last thing people seem to care about are things like health insurance coverage for families of dead and retired firefighters.
He says that legislatively he wants to know that our representatives get it - "I want to hear them say 'I've gotcha'" he said once. Meaning, they understand the sacrifices people like him make - harder work, longer hours, inadequate overtime compensation, paying for equipment and even food out of their own pockets - all while we sleep comfortably at night knowing that there are devoted men and women who will tend to the city.
Facts are - Bush gutted the Fire Act by $100 million even in an election year. Interestingly enough the White House actually called for a $250 million cut in funding for the FIRE Act and Congress wouldn't go that far. According to the IAFF The FIRE Act
"The Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act established a grant program to assist fire departments in protecting communities and fire fighters' health and safety. Administered by USFA, grant money may be used for training, equipment and additional staffing."
And a year later Bush took it further and with The 2005 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, signed by the President on October 18, he cut overall funding for first responders by $500 million.
And just as bad Bush tried to change the Fair Labor Standards Act which would have cut Firefighters out of their overtime. I think if Dad is pulling bodies out of buildings maybe he shouldn't have to worry if he can pay his gas bill or how much money they're going to have to pool to put gas in the rig or if he can afford to upgrade to a mask that doesn't have a broken seal on it.
So, I guess my point here is, there is more to this film than just bad words. Sometimes, just sometimes, events shake our very core beyond words or experience, and sometimes, just sometimes what comes out of our mouths isn't exactly the best thing to say.
So the American Family Association can fuck off because while they are running away my dad is going in. They can fuck off because... I do kinda like my dad.