This blog post was written by Young America's Foundation Alumnus Giovanni Tomasi 

The story of the mosque being erected near Ground Zero is all over news.  This controversy has quickly become another example of how the Left is attempting to whitewash the memory of the September 11 attacks by radical jihadists.  President Obama recently came out supporting this controversial project showing a clear disregard for the pain that still exists. Instead of focusing on the memory of those who lost their lives, President Obama has chosen instead to trivialize the anniversary by forwarding his radical and unpopular liberal agenda.

This whitewashing of history is not just unique to the Obama administration, but is also occurring on our college campuses.  At the George Washington University, September 11 has been designated as a “Freshman Day of Service.”  The idea was implemented last year as a response to First Lady Michelle Obama’s call for 9/11 to become a “day of service” around the nation.  The initiative encourages the freshman class to go around the DC area to work on community service projects.  Last year’s Freshman Day of Service somewhat kept up the auspices of honoring the victims of 9/11, by calling for students to serve veterans and was pitched as a tribute to the men and women who protected our nation overseas following the attacks.  However this year’s “Freshman Day of Service,” has lost any connection to 9/11.  This year’s theme is “Giving today for a greener tomorrow,” which encourages students to “clean rivers, plant trees, and participate in other service projects focused on sustainability.”  Perhaps I am missing something but I fail to see the connection between honoring the anniversary of 9/11 and planting trees.  While National Arbor Day might make a fitting time to work for a “greener tomorrow”, the anniversary of 9/11 certainly is not.  Clearly the liberal academics at GW feel that honoring America’s fallen on 9/11 isn’t nearly as good as working to be “green”.

After the attacks on September 11, 2001, the nation and the world vowed to “Never Forget”.  Now a mere nine years later the Left has tried to do just the opposite.  Initiatives that ignore 9/11 only cause the American public to forget the deep emotions we all felt that day and the memory of those who lost their lives.  The politically correct events on our college campuses like GW’s Freshman Day of Service, have turned an initiative with a good meaning into a tool of ignorance.  Instead of remembering those Americans who lost their lives and acknowledging the threat still facing our country, the Left has chosen to whitewash it.  Through avoidance and ignorance the Left seems to think that the pain and uncomfortable truth 9/11 brought will disappear with time.