David Rothstein wrote:

>Mimi Ezust:
>
>>This criticism makes no sense to me.  If you want silence, then turn off
>>your radio.
>
>This reaction reappears a lot on the list

I don't think so.  Not in relation to a national trauma.

>...  and I think the point is missed.  Without debating if the day
>warrants silence on the waves or not, the issue is: "Should there be
>a collective & national decision to "shut down" or not?, Should the
>silence be official or not?"

Exactly.  In a democracy, I doubt if you can find any 'collective' decision
on ANYTHING at a time like that.

I have already addressed this issue in my later message: to shut down
the airwaves would cause panic.  We are used to having radio and television
broadcasts available all day and night.  We are also used to being able to
decide for ourselves whether we want silence or noise, entertainment or
serious programming.

>This is very similar to the one day in Israel where official stations are
>silent, i.e.  "Yom Kippur".

NO, it is not similar at all.  Israel is a country with an official
religion, and America is not.  Yom Kippur is a very serious day for
observant Jews.  It is one of FOUR days set aside each year for prayer
and fasting.  It is not ordinarily a day of national emergency (although
lately and sadly, every day in Israel seems to be.)

September 11 in America was a day of horror, when information was crucial.
Most people I know tuned in to hear the news at least part of that day and
for the days that followed.  Nothing like it had ever happened here before,
so how could a national decision have been made that would have made any
sense at all?

>If you want entertainment, listen to the radio or rent a video.  To Mimi
>I can reply: If you want to listen to music, turn on your CD,tape etc.

No need to personalize this...  I was not in need of any amusement last
September 11th, or even for the entire week.  In fact, the main issue was
not "music-as-entertainment!" Mr. Proffett, shared his playlist and it
looked to me as if he had carefully selected each piece.  It was serious
music, meant to comfort a grieving nation.  There were pieces on that list
that I would not have wanted to listen to but that really does not matter
at all, does it?

Please realize this fact: his music has ALREADY been broadcast and he sent
the playlist here for those of us who might be curious.  We are discussing
something that has already taken place!

Until one of our discussion-listmembers mentioned it, 'silence' was not
even the issue.  It was a very red herring, and perhaps even a troll.
Definitely after the fact.

With all due respect to your country's policies, Mr. Rothstein,
personally, I would hate to live in a place that had ANY "official"
religious observations at all.  I would not like to go to the other
extreme, either.  I would hate equally (or perhaps even more,) living in
a country where the option of silence was an impossibility, as it is in
some countries with public address systems in the streets blasting away
at all within earshot.  I think my own solution of turning off the home
radio is the most democratic and sensible.

Mimi Ezust