TONGUE-TIED AND BACKWARD-LOOKING MODERN POLITICIANS CAN'T INSPIRE, SO THEY'RE MINING OLD SPEECHES.

Byline: Andrei Cherny 

SEPT. 11 of last year was a day of history - both horrible and heroic. But Sept. 11 of this year, according to the commemoration plans, will highlight the fact that America has yet to come to terms with the meaning of what happened that day in the sky and at ground zero.

Certainly parts of the commemoration in New York will be appropriately moving. Bagpipers will march. Names of the deceased will be recited. Moments of silence will be observed.

But, unfortunately, the silence will extend to political leaders whose voices are needed and whose guidance is required.

In a moment still crying out for context and guidance, our democratically elected officials have decided to turn to the ideas and words of the past.

Instead of offering their own thoughts that day, New York Gov. George Pataki will recite Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey will read from the Declaration of Independence, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will recount Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms.

It would appear they have decided that they cannot find words equal to the occasion. Fearing a miss if they swing for the fences, they have decided to punt.

While it is true that the world might very well little note nor long remember what the politicians gathered at ground zero have to say on this anniversary, that is no excuse for them to shrink from the task of telling America about what has changed, what remains, and what it all means.

Mayor Bloomberg has said that the family members of the victims want a commemoration that is ``understated.'' It is not hard to understand that sentiment. But there is a difference between understatement and no statement at all.

On that day, as America is bombarded with wall-to-wall coverage and repeated reminders of those awful occurrences, we desperately need some statements.

From the shadows of those fallen towers soared a renewed spirit of community and patriotism. But a year later, that spirit has withered away and the status quo ante seems to be the rule of the day.

On Sept. 11, America was challenged as never before.

Yet today, with al-Qaida intact, Osama bin Laden's whereabouts unknown, and little required of us at home save witnessing the bizarre spectacle of old ladies being patted down at airports, some wonder whether America is ready to meet that challenge.

Sept. 11, 2002, is a chance for the nation's leaders to answer that question. The challenge they face is similar to that dealt to Jefferson when he sought to explain what the Revolution was all about, to Lincoln when he tried to explain to a weary nation why so much bloodshed between brothers was required, and to Roosevelt when he explained to the world the differences between democracy and dictatorship.

In meeting that challenge, however, they responded to the trials of their time, not ours. They should be emulated, not imitated.

It is right for politicians to wrap themselves in the cloak of American history, but in doing so they should add to its fabric, not try to hide under it.

The firefighters and police who rushed into the falling towers, the soldiers who did their duty at the Pentagon, the brave heroes aboard Flight 93 who gave their lives to save others - all proved themselves able to meet the moment.

We will tell future generations of their exploits in the same breath as we speak of what happened at Lexington or Gettysburg or Normandy. Their sacrifice and courage deserve commemorations that truly honor their memory and do not just borrow words honoring the memories of others.

``I hate quotations,'' said Ralph Waldo Emerson. ``Tell me what you know.''

In 2002, we know that America has yet to come to terms with the events of last year. Whatever they may mean, the attacks on America have become part of history.

Now our political leaders need to not just read history, they need to write it.

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Finding the words to describe and recount the terrorists atta cks on the World Trade Center on its one-year anniversary would be difficult, but it is much needed from our political leaders.