September 11, 2001 is a day we will never forget. On that day, John Upton became the executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. As noteworthy as that event is, however, and as much as it should be remembered and celebrated, it has been overshadowed by that other 9/11 event.
The approaching 10th anniversary of that tragic day has caused us to think back. Remember? Where were you when you heard the news?
Like most other Americans that morning, I watched in disbelief as the events unfolded on television. Reports came that some people trapped on the highest floors of the North Tower faced the choice of being burned alive or jumping to their deaths. We now know, according to research conducted by USA Today, that nearly 200 human beings chose falling over burning as their preferred way to die. We can only imagine the penitent prayers that poured from terrified hearts during their 10-second descent.
Jim White
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We watched with growing horror and indignation as smoke billowed from the stricken giants. I found myself thinking, “They gave it their best shot, but they’re still there!” And then, they weren’t. First the South Tower, then the North crumpled and collapsed into rubble. You remember that, too?
And, the Pentagon, the symbol of America’s military, with a hole blown into its side. What other deaths and destruction would we be remembering if the passengers of Flight 93 had not sacrificed themselves to prevent it?
In some respects, the events of that day are so vivid that now, 10 years later, we can recall the smallest details. The swirling dust and ashes, the shock on faces — including our own. The courageous responses of rescuing heroes.
But even in the midst of such overwhelming national grief, we remember other images as well. Remember how Republicans and Democrats joined hands on the Capitol steps and prayed in simple recognition that we all needed Divine help?
Remember how we came together in our mutually experienced agony and anger? We became united in a new way during those days, because however different our perspectives on some issues, beneath it all we have a common bond. In some ways, it brought out the best in us.
My reflections of late have created nostalgia for the way things were. In the movie, Camelot, on the eve of battle old King Arthur recalls the former glory of his kingdom. Discovering a boy on the battlefield, he commands the lad to leave that he might live to an old age. The king then gives him a strange commission:
“Each evening, from December to December,
Before you drift to sleep upon your cot,
Think back on all the tales that you remember
Of Camelot.
Ask ev’ry person if he’s heard the story,
And tell it strong and clear if he has not,
That once there was a fleeting wisp of glory
Called Camelot.”
Unlike Arthur, I have no expectation that we will ever experience the simple joys of our Camelot-like past; like trusting that every passenger on every plane wants nothing more than to arrive safely. In the days following the tragedy, news anchor Dan Rather appeared on a night-time talk show and wept as he said, “never again will we be able to sing in truth, ‘… thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears.’ ”
Without doubt, 9/11 was a pivotal day. In some respects we are a different kind of people now. We live in a perpetual state of “heightened level of alert.” And we have been in an actual fighting war for most of the past decade.
Looking back, I have asked myself, “Why did Bin Laden and his cronies attack?” The answers are multiple and complicated, I know. Still, in a nutshell, it can be said that freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, freedom of speech — freedom, period, is threatening to people who want to control what others believe and do. In short, America is the very opposite of what Bin Laden wanted for the world, so we became the great Satan.
President Bush vowed to track him down and bring him to justice. And the wars began. But now, after nearly 10 years of fighting, even news of Bin Laden’s demise brought no great satisfaction. Very early in the war on terror we believed that his capture and death would be the culmination and conclusion of an all-out American effort. But when he was finally located and killed, we were under no such illusions.
We are left asking, “How soon can we end the fighting,” and, “What has it been for? Has it been worth the lives and limbs of splendid young Americans who sacrificed their futures?” As we pull out, are we leaving behind people who have begun to dream of being free and will take up the cause themselves? If not, the Bin Ladenites will continue terrorizing the populace until they finally gain the control they have long sought.
Upheavals in Egypt, Libya and Syria, while rooted in the desire to throw off the despotism of controlling strong men, leave these nations vulnerable to the same kind of seizure through terrorism tactics that the Taliban are using in Afghanistan and Sunni extremists continue in Iraq. And, we can’t forget that Islamic extremism is plaguing other parts of Africa as well. The scenario is not reassuring.
Americans are wary of continuing to sacrifice the blood of its citizens and incur more debt for a murky purpose.
After 10 years, we are still a nation in grief. Though we will never forget the victims of 9/11, we have largely moved past that initial sense of loss. But new losses continue adding to our national mourning. After a time, it becomes wearying.
We seem to have become less civil — at least in the political arena — during the last decade. Everything wrong with the country is either the fault of the Democrats or the Republicans, depending on the party preference of the person asked. A colleague said that the cause of our recent earthquake was discovered. Democrats blamed the shifting of tectonic plates on “Bush’s Fault.” Republicans responded by saying the quake was caused by the founding fathers turning over in their graves!
We need to remember the good will generated by our common tragedy and recall that what unites us is still more compelling than what divides us.
And our national wounds need to be healed. I have never understood the truth of 2 Chronicles 7:14 as clearly as I do now. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Jim White ([email protected]) is editor of the Religious Herald.