Halloween After Sept. 11

Today marks our first Halloween after the Sept. 11 attack, and this holiday more than any other raises the delicate question of how we should celebrate in the wake of a national catastrophe.

Halloween in particular forces us on a guilt trip in the aftermath of tragedy. We naturally feel repulsed by a holiday so wrapped in images of violence and evil. After all, the holiday encourages kids to dress up as monsters and assassins of all kinds; the distinctive killer of the Scream trilogy has a following of children as young as seven, and of course, time-honored classics like Jason and Freddy Krueger are always popular.

We should realize in this turmoil, however, that Halloween has never really been about violence. Our Americanized concept of the holiday has, in fact always involved the harmless pursuit of fun for kids and college students alike. No feelings of sadness or guilt can change the inherently benign nature of the holiday, and our celebrations must carry on as usual.

The specter of Sept. 11 unfortunately threatens to put a damper on the party. At the insistence of overzealous parents, we will undoubtedly see a lot more Teletubbies on the streets tonight, and many fewer ninjas and G.I. Joes. Tensions after the terrorist attack leave all of America in a quandary: Do we abandon the customary revelries of Halloween out of respect for the victims of terrorism?

America’s collective sadness has unfortunately resulted in reticence to engage in other traditionally fun activities, like going to the movies, attending sports games and vacationing abroad. Even the Harvard community has struggled with the question of an appropriate level of festivity after Sept. 11. Emotional hysteria following the attack saw the postponement of the first-year mixer “Singled Out,” and the cancellation of intramurals between houses, such as the Adams-Pfoho War. Similar concerns for propriety must not prevail at Harvard tonight.

The spirit of a holiday calls us to once again enjoy our one-time blissful ignorance of the realities of terrorism. After all, the likes of Osama bin Laden succeed when the cultures they target grind to a halt, possessed by threat and fear. American culture, and especially the Harvard community, must not succumb so easily. Air strikes are effective retaliation, but for tonight, kids trick-or-treating and college students partying without fear send a louder message to bin Laden that his tactics have failed.

Today, we must, in the spirit of an innocent holiday, lift the burden of Sept. 11 from our collective consciences. Halloween this year provides us with a unique opportunity—the chance to show terrorists that they will not crush America’s enthusiasm for having fun.

—Luke Smith