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    • Sep 13, 2011
    • 5 min read

Ten Years Later


BY AIMEE BEDOY

I am writing this ten years to the day that those towers fell. And ten years later, I want us to discuss what we have learned from September 11, 2001, and where we as a nation must continue to grow.

I am speaking as someone who grew up in this culture, immersed in it wholly from the time I was 12 years old. Perhaps I am not the wisest, or the most sage member of society to speak on these points, but this is what I have learned from my childhood to the present.

At first, the attacks on September 11 provoked intense fear in everyone. We didn't know what was going on, what was next, or what would come. We were determined to find out the cause, the reasoning, the spirit of the event. Was it an accident? Was it war being declared upon our nation? Was it an extremist group attempting to take down our beliefs? There were so many questions, and disbelief struck us as the first response. Nationwide, we doubted that such hate could exist -- we wondered how we as a nation could merit such a devastating blow.

If you might remember, as a commercial or PSA once told us shortly after the attacks, "they tried to change us . . . they did." And on each house was an American flag. We prided ourselves on our resilience, on the heroism of so many first-responders, on the founding tenets of our national identity. And we bonded together, as a nation, to stand up in defense of those liberties we find so vital. How beautiful -- the love that each showed his neighbor, and the compassion towards our fellow man.

But -- it was only towards our fellow American. We declared a "war on terror" and fear spread through the nation like a viral disease. Not explicit fear, perhaps, but the subtle prejudice against any practicing Muslim, the hate that brewed in the veins of so many against the idea of a Middle-Eastern terrorist. Our compassion was selective in that we saw all people who might even remotely be of the Islamic faith or heritage as a possible terrorist -- this includes both our citizens in the United States, in addition to the far-off citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, and Palestine. We held them up as "the enemy," despite the fact that our pain and suffering did not lie in the hands of the everyday citizen of these countries, but in the responsibility of a terrorist group.

And we learned that Al-Qaeda was responsible for the attacks: not a nation, not a congress or a president or a public minister of any sort. We took the fight to the soil of many different nations to seek out Osama bin Laden and his cohort -- we attacked the houses, farms, and businesses of civilians in Afghanistan and many other nations in the Middle East in search of first, Al-Qaeda, but later entangling ourselves to try to find the Taliban as well. Like bin Laden, we were aiming for their "icons of military and economic power," and didn't mean to attack women and children; but how much better can we be, when we have caused similar collateral damage? How can we free a nation if we kill them first? We brought our misguided justice and preemptive defense to the everyday man in these countries and we caused so much pain -- both physical and emotional. The fear that was brought upon us as a nation by a religious extremist group that has no national name or boundary, we as a nation through our military brought to the people of the Middle East.

And what justice have we brought about? What recompense have we brought to those whose husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, children, siblings, or friends died in the struggle against the terrorist attacks on our nation on 9/11? We cannot bring them back, and killing extremists or civilians will not bring them back for another minute, day, week. How many lives have been lost of our own military? How many civilian lives have been sacrificed in the name of "collateral damage" against a constantly mutating religious sect that has no home?

A war on terror is even more vague than a war on drugs: indeed, can we even claim to be fighting terror when instead terror has been planted in the hearts of our youth at such a young age? Terror is inculturated; it is an idea that we have little control over. Indeed, we can fight terrorism within our own borders by strict guidelines, border and national security and document requirements. We can fight terror by promoting peace on our soil and teaching our children the truth and beauty of our fellow man. When we see our fellow man as intrinsically valuable, we are much less likely to want to inflict harm upon them. Terrorism cannot exist if we teach love and a respect for human dignity. But war-mongering, exclusive compassion, prejudice and a desire for vengeance do nothing to stop terrorism.

When Osama bin Laden was assassinated, I wept for a soul so twisted that he wished for the death of our nation, of our people, and our spirit. But even more than that, I wept because our national society wished for his death and celebrated his demise. And now, after the high of knowing that he is gone, not a one whom I know who had lost a friend or family member can say that his death makes up for the loss of their loved one, or that they feel fulfillment in knowing his assassination was successful. Because instead of taking out him alone, we took down many men, women, and children who did not deserve to be caught up in the crossfire merely based upon their race, religion or location. We let our men and women go into battle against the nebulous idea of "terror," without a specific declaration or a hardline objective. We bred fear into the hearts of our children and vengeance into the hearts of our people by profiling and prejudice, and by hate and by anger.

So what have I learned from September 11, 2001? I have learned that peace is our responsibility, and we cannot expect fulfillment from revenge. I have learned that defense does not mean so-called preemptive war. I have learned that "othering" the enemy is the most effective way to bring about prejudice, hate, and justification for collateral damage. I have learned that even the most warped minds are still human, and deserving of the dignity each of us merits in our humanity. In ten years I can't say that we have come very far in terms of respect for the human person, and we have done little to achieve more peace, despite the fact that we claim to be fighting terror for the sake of our fellow man.

Disclaimer: The views presented in the Rehumanize Blog do not necessarily represent the views of all members, contributors, or donors. We exist to present a forum for discussion within the Consistent Life Ethic, to promote discourse and present an opportunity for peer review and dialogue.

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