Tag: 9/11

Do We Really Need All the Memorials and Monuments We Have?

A few days ago, I was meeting my mother for dinner near the World Trade Center Memorial. As usual, I was at the restaurant early. They were getting ready to open. I wandered around. I passed the Anne Frank Tree, a sapling descendant of the original horse chestnut tree outside her secret annex, which brought her peace while she was hiding. I have a copy of her diary sitting on my living room table. Last year, I attended a few events about her and the diary. 

Anne Frank Tree

After walking by her tree, I ventured over to the World Trade Center Memorial. I saw flowers stuck into the grooves near the names of some of the victims of this tragedy. The museum is next to it.

I have spent time in Berlin, Prague, and Vienna, and have been to countless memorials for the Shoah. When you travel to Washington, DC, you can visit the Jefferson, Vietnam Veterans Memorials and World War II memorials, as well as the Lincoln and Washington Monuments. Every city is chock full of memorials and monuments.

WW II Memorial

The question is: Do we need them? Are there too many? Yes, I think we need the ones for Jefferson, Lincoln, and Washington. Their presidencies shaped our nation. Do we need the ones for the Holocaust and others who have been memorialized? That’s the bigger question. If Anne Frank had lived the normal life she should have, we wouldn’t be planting trees cloned from the one in front of the annex where she hid. If 9/11 had never happened, those working in the World Trade Center (WTC) would still be here and maybe still be working in the WTC. Same with the memorials for all the slain police officers and firefighters who we lost in the line of duty.

We would not need these memorials if we lived more intelligently.

Lincoln Monument

Who am I?

Do I Need a Real ID?

By Mitchell Slepian

NYS DMV

Do I need a Real or Enhanced ID to prove I exist? Should I get one? How difficult does our government make it to obtain one? In 2005, The Real ID Act, was passed by Congress. It enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the Federal Government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses and identification cards.” I hold a New York State Driver’s License and a US Passport. I’ve been using both as forms of ID for many years. By 2025, travelers must be Real ID-compliant to fly domestically in the United States. A passport or an Enhanced ID state drivers license will allow you to board your jet. I like leaving on a jet plane.

I decided to get the NYS Enhanced ID. I filled out the form and placed the required ID materials (birth certificate, voter ID card, and utility bill — note that a US passport also qualifies) into an envelope. I made my appointment with the NYS DMV. 

Last Tuesday, I marched over to the downtown NYS Department of Motor Vehicles for my 12:30 appointment. I was there about 15 minutes early. My phone said I could check in five minutes early. There was no one on the check in line in the DMV. I showed my code to the woman who handled checking people in. She said you’re early. Come back in a few minutes. I saw a text on my phone with a check-in number. I showed it to her. She was shocked and said, I guess you’re checked in. Wait to be called. Almost immediately I was called to a window. 

I went to window number 29. It’s no surprise the windows were not in order. I walked around and found it. I saw number 26 and figured I’d see it three windows over. Nope. It was near the lower numbers.

They took my picture and were told to wait to be called. I said, how long. I was told at least two hours. I went back to the check-in woman and asked why, if I had an appointment at 12:30, I needed to wait a minimum of over two hours. She said, ‘Would you really think you’d be seen at the appointment time?’ I said, I understand if there would be a 10- or 15-minute delay. I noted at a doctor’s office you are usually seen a few minutes later than your scheduled appointment time. She said, well, this is the DMV. We only give you an appointment to get you in the door. Then you wait a few hours. I said, why make an appointment. Again, she said to get in. She checked in plenty of people who had no appointments. I walked out around 12:30. Around 3:30, I received a text that it was my time to go to the window and finish up.  I was at my desk t work. So, my two-hour wait was over three hours.

They could make it all online. You can take the picture with your phone and email it to us. That’s how I renewed my license a few years ago. Additionally, they required you to present your current driver’s license, which means you met their ID requirements. So why would they need to check again?

I decided I am not going back. I will use my passport to fly domestically. Of course, renewing that requires a trip to the US Post Office. Visiting the post office is always as interesting and efficient as visiting the DMV.

Walking into the NYS DMV