9-11: The Memory & The Forgetting

McAlvany Weekly Commentary

Heroism & Empathy Worth Remembering Current Ad-Hominem Politics Show What We've Forgotten Sahm Rule & Yield Curve Reversal Signal Recession "As we march towards the November elections, we could choose to dehumanize people that we disagree with or we can choose to dignify regardless of differences. We've allowed the absurdity of a platform-free, policy-light election to move ahead, and instead we've invited an ad hominem contest of insults and jabs, attack against the man, and attempt to undermine by avoiding the platform, glossing over policy in favor of personal insults, and aggressive character assassination." —David McAlvany Kevin: Welcome to the McAlvany Weekly Commentary. I'm Kevin Orrick, along with David McAlvany. Well, David, I don't know that we can ever forget 9/11 each time it comes around every year. There are these turning points in history, and that one in our lifetime was major. And I know for you there were some very poignant personal things that involved New York, the South Tower, the World Trade Center. It's a powerful, powerful day to go back and remember David: Occasionally, I have to ask the younger on staff if they even know what 9/11 was. Of course they do because they've been told, but— Kevin: Some weren't even born though. David: Twenty-three years ago. I mean, it is a little bit of time. So I showed up early to work at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, as it has often happened. I was on the phone with a good friend from Smith Barney before the markets opened, and something unusual occurred. We watched the early news of the first plane crash into the Twin Towers. Not long before that, I had completed my training there in the financial district, in the Twin Towers. Kevin: You had been in New York before that? Yeah. David: Yeah, in the South Tower. So the accident, it appeared, it was well covered by the news as camera crews, helicopters sort of captured the North Tower burning and live as we watched the coverage. Seeing a plane hit the South Tower, there was a mental shift to that point. It had appeared to be an accident. Kind of what happened was confused. After the South Tower was hit, it was like, "That was no accident." That was the second plane. We didn't have the explanation of the first plane. Kevin: I remember that realization too. I was here at this office at the time, and one of the guys had a TV back in the back corner. In fact, you worked in that office when you came back to the office here, and he said, "Hey, Kevin, come back here" because he knew I was a pilot. He said, "Somebody flew a plane into the World Trade Center." So we watched, and we thought it was an accident as well until while we were watching, we saw the second plane hit. And at that point, it's very hard to process, isn't it? When something happens that's so out of the norm, I don't think I really registered when the second plane hit right away. I just was sent into sort of a befuddlement for a few minutes before I started to realize that this was contrived. David: Panic and fear are things that we experience through a variety of circumstances. And one of the reasons I think of 9/11 and reflect on it is the memory of a man who died in the building, and he didn't have to die if he had lived selfishly,. He was clear of the building, and very selflessly went back into the building to look for four colleagues. Rick Rescorla was a soldier of fortune. He fought in Rhodesia. He had been in the British military and somehow made his way into the security apparatus at Morgan Stanley and he didn't care if you were in a $10,000 pinstripe suit, you were going to do what you needed to do in a moment of crisis. Kevin: Didn't he run you guys through drills and the people who were with Morgan Stanley? David: Fire drills were a routine thing and it didn't matter if you were closing a billion dollar deal, you were marching the stairs. And Port Commission, who owns the buildings,