Reflections on 9/11

As expected, watching the video replays and viewing the photos of the 9/11/2001 attacks brought back the conglomeration of emotions of that day. Seeing the pictures and hearing the details of the horror at each point of attack brings alive once more the eerie feelings of disbelief, horror over the brutal mass murders, and the overwhelming sadness of the thousands of lives forever changed. The most chilling images of that day for me remain the falling bodies of those who chose to throw themselves to their death from the top floors of the WTC towers. I do not show those in any remembrance services, but I have them in my personal collection. These overpowering images define to me the brutality of our enemy who made themselves clearly known to all Americans that day.

Reflections of 9/11 also remind me of the intense sense of the display of the American spirit on that day and the days to follow. Americans were as close to being one as is humanly possible. I never felt any personal fear on the 11th or any following day; I felt great grief over the sense of loss of life and great pride in the spirit that pulled us together to both recover from the brutal attacks and to resolve to face our enemy head on. As many Americans expressed, parallels of the Pearl Harbor attack came to mind. In fact, I remember clearly who I heard first declare that “America is at war.” The declaration came not from Congress nor from the President; it came from news anchor Tom Brokaw as he reported throughout our second “day of infamy.” Indeed, “America is at war.”

Outside of the loss of life and suffering brought by the attacks themselves, and the subsequent American lives lost in the Global War on Terror, I am most distressed and saddened by the resurgence of disunity among a people who need to be focused single-mindedly on the defeat of a treacherous, dangerous enemy. This is an enemy who seeks solely to destroy the liberties enjoyed by Americans.

Instead of “united we stand,” though, we now endure assaults from sectors of Americans who seek not to debate war policy, but to frustrate every action our President takes to prosecute this war. For them, defeating a brutal enemy is secondary to politically defeating President Bush and the Republican Party. Consider the many points that they use to sow seeds of distrust and hatred: electronic surveillance and data collection of contacts with terrorists is “spying” on innocent Americans; American presence in Iraq creates more terrorists; “Bush lied;” the Administration has embarked upon “cowboy diplomacy.” You can easily add to the list. Instead of setting aside divisive agendas for the sake of national unity and security, special interests continue to pursue selfish desires in times on national crisis. In a time when Americans wrote “God bless America” across this land over the weeks following 9/11, organizations like the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State relentlessly pursue their agenda to drive expressions of belief in Deity out of the public arena. Does that really make a lot of sense in a time when Americans need to be uplifted in belief? On and on it goes.

My reflections on 9/11 drive me to outright confusion. I do not comprehend how, when facing such a fiercely determined enemy, so many of my fellow citizens fail to comprehend the importance of the unity and purpose needed to defeat this dangerous foe. Standing under the shadow of the history of other militant totalitarians that attacked freedom throughout the world, I fail to comprehend how so many of my fellow citizens would rather see this enemy win as long as it means defeat for our Commander-in-Chief. It does not make sense.

Once more, I have gone on far too long for a blog. These things are supposed to be brief so that readers do not lose interest. If you have made it this far, I thank you. As Mr. Brokaw declared, “America is at war.”