It has been 14 years since the dreaded attacks known to
history as 9/11. The sad thing is, as I sit and reflect on all that has
happened the last 14 years I am struck by the disturbing reality that Osama bin
Laden may actually be winning.
In the days immediately following the tragic attacks there
was a genuine sense of American pride and unity—but it was very short-lived. We
grieved as a nation and the world grieved with us at the inconceivable evil
that had been launched against so many innocent people. Before long, President
Bush stood at Ground Zero and proclaimed those responsible would soon be
running in fear.
In a groundswell of vengeful fervor Congress quickly
abdicated their constitutional responsibility to hold the authority of war
declaration. Then, with shouts of patriotic zeal and flag waving prowess, we
rallied behind our President to send volunteer soldiers to fight wars of
revenge paid for on credit. We blindly trusted in the idea that that guns and
bombs alone would somehow right the wrong that had been done to us.
Predictably, and perhaps appropriately, the emotional zeal
that started these tragic wars quickly eroded. Our national life returned
normal. Patriotism was redefined as simply sporting a “we support the troops” bumper
sticker or flying the American flag. As a nation we were genuinely happy to
honor the brave men and women sent to Iraq and Afghanistan and thank them for
their service, but the vast majority of eligible young Americans would never
see combat, never know a draft, and never truly sacrifice for the war effort.
Contents to accept the lies that a war could be fought on credit, America
cruised ignorantly along rejoicing that in some ways the wars had added
catalyst to the American economy and people became richer. Tragically, those
who had been heavily invested in war industries became exceptionally rich off
the carnage and devastation of our revenge.
Yet, as we were getting a stronger economy and patting
ourselves on the back for supporting the troops that were fighting for us, brewing
beneath the surface of our American culture was an increasingly heightened
sense of fear and anger. Like a festering wound, this hatred and fear was
slowly growing in its infectious waste and preparing to release its toxic venom
into the nation as a whole. Traditional political divisions between left and
right became significantly wider. A politics of triumphalism usurped the
capacity or willingness for leaders to work in bipartisan partnerships for the
good of the nation. Those who increasingly opposed the war were loudly shout
down by those who felt it was our national obligation to destroy our enemy. Fueled
by populist media and grounded in fear that “those people” would ruin “our way
of life,” the hatred slowly festered as the economy grew by leaps and bounds.
Ultimately, our national economy collapsed and the hate-filled
political frenzy that followed saw the election of President Obama and the
bitter retaliation of all who opposed that election. On a level of epic and
historical proportions the political discourse became increasingly more divisive
and polarized. “Patriotism” became fundamentally married to political
affiliation and the only “true” Americans were then decided according to
political preference rather than our shared national heritage.
Today we live in America that is more divided than at any
time since the American Civil War. Yet rather than divided strictly along
geographical lines of North and South, we have bifurcated whole communities
into absolutist combatants for control of our nation. Racism continues to
destroy lives on epic levels. Hatred is destroying the lives of police officers
murdered simply for wearing their uniform. Schools, movie theaters, and urban
highways have become random grounds of senseless violence and hatred. Economic
inequality deepens as the nation’s most wealthy increasingly divide from the
most impoverished and the vast middle becomes stretched thinner and thinner.
Among the sorted goals of Osama bin Laden was to divide
America in his evil hopes that such division would bring about our collapse as
a nation. It would be naïve to think that the 9/11 attacks alone created the
catastrophe in which we live today. But it is also historically relevant to
note that this 14th anniversary marks the definitive beginning of a
long, fear-driven, and hate-fueled slide into our own national disgrace.
Rather than simply “never forget,” as the saying goes,
perhaps it is time that we do forget a few things so that we can truly reclaim
what Osama bin Laden took away from us.
Let us forget the rage. Our anger and rage over something
tha t happened 14 years ago does nothing to either resolve the issues at hand
or bring healing to the land. All it does is serve to fuel further hatred,
fear, and animosity.
Let us forget the revenge. Our violent revenge has ravaged 2
countries and left them more unstable than they were 14 years ago. Our revenge
has put us at odds with many nations that would be our friends. Our revenge has
cost countless billions of dollars and, much more seriously, hundreds of
thousands of innocent lives. Our revenge only played in to the evil that was
unleashed upon us 14 years ago.
Let us forget the stereotypes. It is a sad commentary to
realize that the majority of Muslims killed in our wars of revenge were not
enemies of the United States but were actually those who also, bin Laden
himself considered to be less than pure Islamic. Yet, stereotyping entire
races, ethnicities, and religious preferences as being evil, we have actually
emboldened those who would find reason to hate Americans.
Let us forget the hate. It was hatred that brought upon the
9/11 disaster. And that hatred so the seeds of a national hatred that not only
launched two unnecessary wars, but is also a hatred that has worked its way
inwardly and is destroying the very fabric of our nation. Once such hatred was
unleashed without impunity, it was only natural that like a cancer it would
begin to destroy us.
The 14th anniversary of this epic moment in
American history gives us the perfect time to remember, and perhaps most
importantly, to forget. In forgetting let us hold fast to what God calls us to
remember—we are to love one another as Christ first loved us. In forgetting the
rage, revenge, stereotypes, and hatred, we will begin to not only embrace God’s
love a new but will turn the dangerous slide of Osama bin Laden’s victory into
a greater victory for all that is good, holy, and decent.
14 years ago today the power of hate changed the world. As
we appropriately remember this tragic anniversary it is vitally important that
we remember hatred is not the means by which we may overcome the devastating
power of hatred. If God's love is not allowed to prevail then hatred will win
the day.
What is your choice?