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Saturday, September 11, 2021

A Time for Healing, a Time for Hope


I have no memories of the September 11th attacks, except flashes of news reports on TV and the internet. 2001 was a turbulent year for me. I took early retirement due to burnout and deteriorating work performance. My agency was nice enough to let me retire rather than fire me. One of my coworkers was less fortunate. He was fired. My parish was reeling from a church split.

While some Americans were surprised by the attacks, other Americans, myself included, were not surprised. Those who had been paying attention to the activities of Al-Qaeda were anticipating that the terrorist organization would launch a large scale attack against the “Great Satan” in an effort to enhance its prestige and to recruit more members.

Horrendous as the September 11th attacks were, they were relatively tame compared with what Al-Qaeda might have done—smuggle a “dirty bomb” into New York City and detonate it.

What followed the attacks was a wave of xenophobia and paranoia. Innocent people were attacked because they looked Muslim in the minds of their attackers. They fitted their attackers’ mental stereotype of a Muslim. 

The attention seekers exploited the attacks to the fullest, fueling fear of the US Muslim population and intensifying hostility toward its members.

As subsequent events would show, only a very tiny segment of the US Muslim embraced radical Islamist extremism. The larger portion of the US Muslim population was peaceful and law-abiding. For them jihad was not violent warfare, but the inner struggle of a devout Muslim to live his faith.

Surprisingly evangelical Christians, ostensibly followers of a Lord who teaches love of neighbor, love of enemies, and love of one’s fellow Christians, have been among the least accepting of Muslims in the United States. As a new report from Arizona Christian University’s Cultural Research Center (CRC) suggests, “Christian” has become a generic label. Very few individuals who identify themselves as Christians live according to the teaching and example of Jesus.

Forming friendships with Muslims and showing them the love of Jesus is the best way to point them to Jesus.

Twenty years later “Remember 9/11” is used to encourage anti-Muslim sentiments.

This is not to downplay the traumatic effects of the attacks on the American psyche. Not since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has the United States experienced a major attack on American soil. Following Pearl Harbor, the Japanese launched balloon bomb attacks on the United States, but these attacks were largely ineffectual. A balloon bomb is an explosive or incendiary device suspended from a balloon. A clockwork timer releases the bomb. Balloon bombs are subject to the vagaries of wind and weather and the bomb was often released where it could do little damage. 

German U-boats mined Boston Harbor They also mined the waters of New York, Chesapeake Bay and Florida. At the time World War II ended, the Germans were working on an atomic bomb and long-range bombers and rockets to deliver the atomic bomb to American soil. The United States, however, experienced nothing like Pearl Harbor until September 11th.

If anything can be learned from the September 11th attacks is that the United States need to be ceaselessly vigilant against enemies at home and abroad. Ceaseless vigilance means investigating the background and finances of all politicians to ensure that they are not beholding to a foreign power in any way or have been compromised by a foreign power. 

Right now, the United States’ main internal threat is from domestic terrorists—ultra right-wing groups and individuals. Its chief external threats are from long-time competitors like Russia and China and radical Islamist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS. 

Conspiracy theorists would have us fighting phantoms. This suggests that they are being paid or influenced by foreign actors who are seeking to divide the nation, pitting one segment of its population against another. Those who subscribe to their conspiracy theories are being duped and are unwitting accomplices in their efforts to undermine our nation’s security.

As we recall the events of that day as painful as they are, let us also pray for the healing of our nation’s divisions, the safety of our armed forces wherever they are stationed, the security of our nation, and the coming of the day when humankind will beat its spears into ploughshares and war no more.

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