M. SOARESPOLITICAL CARTOONS & SATIRE
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September 8, 2026

The Air Is Safe.

The reassurance came after the towers fell. So did years of illness.

Editorial cartoon set in Lower Manhattan on September 20, 2001, showing office workers, a mother and child, and cleanup crews returning near Ground Zero beneath a large sign reading The Air Is Safe. New York Is Open. Go Back to Work. A child asks, They’re sure? A cleanup worker answers, They said they were. In the lingering haze are the words asbestos, toxic dust, carcinogens, cancer, respiratory disease, and lifelong illness.