Most of us who have lived through historic moments can recall with some clarity where we were and what we were doing on those days, and Sept. 11, 2001, is no different. But it’s often the case that the details tend to get a little fuzzy as time passes.
Who among us, after all, can readily remember that nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks? Do we recall instantly the flight numbers of the hijacked airliners that hit the twin towers in New York City, or those which crashed in Pennsylvania or into the Pentagon?
Chances are, many of us no longer remember the exact details of what happened on that day nine years ago. What is important is that most of us can easily recall the heroism displayed by firefighters and police and thousands of ordinary citizens on that day.
We also know without prompting that Sept. 11 precipitated what has become a grueling, deadly war on terrorism that even now continues.
It’s a war that claimed the lives of thousands of fine American service members – and likely killed tens of thousands of Iraqi and Afghanistan civilians whose only crime was to live in the place they called home.
In short, there has been more than enough grief and pain to go around in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. There seems no need for more.
Yet some continue to blame an entire religion for the acts of its most deluded and dangerous followers, forgetting not only that we are a nation of religious tolerance, but also that the Christian faith has its own dangerous and deluded followers. Fortunately, those who bomb abortion clinics or use Christianity to justify violence against those they brand sinners or inferior remain a minority.
If that changes, the terrorists responsible for Sept. 11 really will have won.
Who among us, after all, can readily remember that nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks? Do we recall instantly the flight numbers of the hijacked airliners that hit the twin towers in New York City, or those which crashed in Pennsylvania or into the Pentagon?
Chances are, many of us no longer remember the exact details of what happened on that day nine years ago. What is important is that most of us can easily recall the heroism displayed by firefighters and police and thousands of ordinary citizens on that day.
We also know without prompting that Sept. 11 precipitated what has become a grueling, deadly war on terrorism that even now continues.
It’s a war that claimed the lives of thousands of fine American service members – and likely killed tens of thousands of Iraqi and Afghanistan civilians whose only crime was to live in the place they called home.
In short, there has been more than enough grief and pain to go around in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. There seems no need for more.
Yet some continue to blame an entire religion for the acts of its most deluded and dangerous followers, forgetting not only that we are a nation of religious tolerance, but also that the Christian faith has its own dangerous and deluded followers. Fortunately, those who bomb abortion clinics or use Christianity to justify violence against those they brand sinners or inferior remain a minority.
If that changes, the terrorists responsible for Sept. 11 really will have won.