Jill A. Eddy says that, “Commemorative journalism seems to offer the best chance to reexamine our past, but may offer little incentive to do so” (1999:71). Journalists, she reminds us, “write the first draft of history;” but, the commemoration of 9/11 has shown little interest in addressing other issues of historical significance — economics and geopolitics, for example. Instead, our research proofs that the events (and, we must say, newspapers’ publications are part of them) proceeded as a religious procession. The concept of patriotism is often intertwined with civil religion, with its displays of veneration for those we lost and its calls for unity. Ours is a multicultural nation, with countless opinions that enrich our democratic process. The commemoration of 9/11 plays a major role in keeping these voices under a single uniting principle of nation and homeland.

The data has found no conclusive evidence that this is a deliberate attempt to misinform the public. Instead, what we found is that multiple issues make up the collective memories of our modern society, and, while we may have preconceived notions of what the news coverage should be about, issues like vulnerability and horror before terrible events such as 9/11 lead both the public and the media to view and report on the commemoration as a religious occasion. The nature of this religiosity is not necessarily related to any specific denomination (e.g., there are few mentions of “Muslim,” “Jewish,” or “Christian”).  What this is really about is “civil religion.” To paraphrase Durkheim, our hearts have met in the temple of our nation’s defining values, these “totemic principles,” with respect and mourning; since this totem is a reflection of ourselves, it is also an intimate moment to reflect upon our principles and reaffirm the covenant of our Union, even if other related issues are neglected or rendered mundane. The events of 9/11 have left an indelible mark on our collective conscience, but only time will tell if our nation will overcome trauma and focus on ideas and actions that may help us avoid anything similar from happening again.