Here is what cannot be part of the 9/11 memorial at the World Trade Center site: any segmant of the iconic facade remnant, the Koenig Sphere; any depiction or recognition of the flag raising by the three firefighters; any sign of the crushed fire trucks; the acronyms "FDNY," "NYPD," or "PAPD." The words "firefighter" or "police officer." The victims must be identified with as little reference to 9/11 as possible.

As per the 13 member memorial jury of intellectuals, artists, political appointees and one well connected 9/11 family member, there can be no history of 9/11 anywhere on the site "in order to preserve the integrity of the memorial."

All the authentic artifacts of 9/11 will be replaced by minimalist architecture in order to impose a meaning of narcissim and "ambiguity" upon the site.

To restore 9/11 to the site would, as per these intellectuals, "tell us what to think." It would be, as memorial architect Michael Arad told me one 9/11 anniversary while standing on bedrock, "didatic." That is, the site might include a moral or political message. It must be remade so as to eliminate that. 

Visitors to the site, when the memorial is complete or future generations, are to gain no knowledge, take away any lessons, make no judgments, render no blame, or find any inspiration or resolve.

This is, according to memorial foundation Chairman Michael Bloomberg, "America's memorial." "Less is more," Bloomberg as said of it, "especially when you are trying to encourage people to think."