Nine-Eleven, A Different Perspective
It’s September eleventh, the fifth anniversary of the infamous attack on the American psyche. I don’t watch much TV these days, but the radio is overwhelmed with that fact and newspapers are inundated by it. Five years ago today, some three thousand individuals were killed in a series of events that many Americans now view as the beginning of the “war on terror.”
The problem is, 9-11 has been turned into something it really wasn’t. I mean no disrespect to those who lost loved ones and I’ll allow a certain degree by which Americans “lost their innocence” (i.e. learned that “they” actually can “get” us), but let’s put this into perspective.
Death is a reality. Violent and reprehensible death happens every day around the world to groups of dozens and hundreds, sometimes even thousands. Genocide claims the lives of hundreds of thousands of people; famine causes unfathomable pain and suffering. Natural disasters (many of which are probably more caused by our mistreatment of the world than “nature” per se) makes life miserable for millions every year. Little of which our newspapers, radio shows and TV programs bother spending much time on.
So why are we so obsessed with 9-11?
Well, it appears to me that this preoccupation has more to do with our national obsession with control than what really happened. 9-11 taught us that we are not in control of everything. There are people out there who do not recognize our authority over them; indeed, there are people out there who hate us.
This doesn’t surprise me. If we’d simply step off of the stage for a few moments and imagine what the US might look like from an “outsider’s” perspective, most of us would probably be forced to admit we don’t look very good.
It is well known, around the world, that we imprison abnormally high numbers of our citizens; we give exceedingly low percentages of our incomes to charity (and an embarrassingly lower percentage to those in need outside the US); yet our violent crime rate are poverty levels are strangely high; our health care system is practically inaccessible to many of those with the greatest needs, and many around the world think we approve of torture (I’m not saying we do, only that many think so).
I don’t find it surprising that we were attacked. I don’t find it surprising that thousands were killed (although I have great sympathy to those who truly suffer because of it). But I also don’t think we’re being honest when we try to portray it as an even that “changed the world.”
Let’s be honest about what happened: several thousand American were killed in an deplorable, violent, mis-guided, extremist attack, thousands more experienced real and horrifying loss because of the same. We do well to remember that… but that’s no excuse self-identify ourselves as an entire country of victims. To do so narcissistically belittles those who actually do experience real loss (both because of 9-11 and because of any number of equally-horrific events that happen around the world on a disturbingly regular basis.)
So, for my part, I offer prayers for comfort and peace on behalf of those who were affected by 9-11, and I offer prayers for protection, that they would not continue to be used by our country, our politicians and our religious leaders as pawns through whom to create a sense of national victimhood and fear.
Grace and Peace,
`tim
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April 20th, 2007 at 11:40 am
[…] Having said that. I am reminded of my post a few months ago regarding 9-11 (you can read it here.) […]