When I was first watching The West Wing, I was confused when the first episode of Season 3 didn't pick up on the cliffhanger it had left off on. Rather than reveal whether or not President Bartlet would run for a second term, there was a scene at an FBI field office. Not to mention, Streaming Services don’t include the disclaimer that came with the Episode, explaining that it was a special episode that wasn’t really a part of the timeline of the show. My Dad, who watched the episode when it came out, explained to me that the episode came out after 9/11.

I was 13 and didn’t quite understand why it was necessary to interrupt the plot in this way. I, nor anyone who is currently a teenager lived through 9/11. Although we spoke briefly about 9/11 on its anniversary each year in school, and my parents had tried to describe what it was like when they turned on the news that morning, I didn’t truly gain a greater understanding of the event until I visited the 9/11 museum in New York. Another thing that helped me to understand the effects of 9/11 was the Broadway show Come From Away, which is about the effects of 9/11 on the people who were in the air on different planes that day. The 9/11 museum and Come From Away in a way do the same thing that The West Wing does: immerse the viewer in something they may not really understand so that they not only understand simply what happened but also understand what happened on a deeper, emotional, level. Now when I watch Isaac and Ishmael I have a much greater appreciation for it.

The West Wing, when Isaac and Ishamel aired, was one of the most awarded television series, having won the most Emmys in 2000, and going on to win the most Emmys again in 2001. The fact that they were able to have an episode about 9/11 only about 3 weeks after it occurred, without ever truly ever mentioning 9/11, is remarkable.

It is important, as more and more of the population becomes people who did not live through the tragedy, that we take steps to learn about our history so we can be respectful of what happened and make sure the event is something our nation will never forget.