Eighteen Septembers
(Adapted from a previous post on 9/11/16)
Today is number eighteen. Eighteen Septembers. Eighteen years. Two Towers. Four jets. One flank of the Pentagon. One field in southwestern Pennsylvania. Three thousand souls. Three presidents. Two wars. Many determined enemies.
Eighteen Septembers later, America has moved on. As it HAD to. We treated the few survivors lucky enough to have been merely wounded. We buried our dead. We prayed to our Creator for strength and perseverance. We removed the wreckage. We reimbursed victim’s families. We treated our first responders who became ill at an alarming rate. We ramped up security. We invaded two countries that were breeding grounds for our enemies. An enormous amount of blood was shed. We executed one of the masterminds behind the attacks. We held yearly commemorations that have drawn first responders, families, world leaders and every day people as well. We built a solemn and beautiful and moving Memorial in New York City. We constructed a Museum that thoughtfully and tastefully recorded and documented those events. We rebuilt our economy. We rebuilt a World Trade Tower more beautiful than before. We did what we had to do.
And, through it all, one hears a single refrain: “Never Forget”. It has been painted on barns, on buildings and on trucks. It has been printed in books and on post cards and souvenirs. It has been spoken by leaders and dignitaries and educators and commentators and presidents and poets. I imagine it has even been uttered by our brave soldiers in mortal combat. But the question I want to ask today is: What is it, exactly, that we must never forget?
From what young people today tell me, the lessons are muddled. The ghastliest images are kept from them. The causes of the attacks are often explained to our youngsters to be “fundamentalism” (as if a fundamentalist Buddhist or Christian or Jew might carry out similar attacks), “intolerance” (as if strong beliefs, of and by themselves, result in murder), and social factors such as unemployment (as if job training could have prevented the attack). September 11 is also remembered as an example of American heroism and bravery under duress. Rightfully so. From what we can tell, there were thousands of acts of courage, altruism, and self sacrifice. That these are commemorated and celebrated is right and just. However, I’m afraid that many of the big lessons of 911 have been forgotten. School children in some areas are not even allowed to use the term “Islamic Terrorists!” The very NAME of our enemy has been banned! Soon to be forgotten! So much for “Never Forget!” So, in response to this ongoing amnesia, I thought I might use this moment in time, eighteen Septembers later, to mention some of the, partially forgotten, lessons of that day:
1) We MUST remember that evil is alive and thriving in our modern world. It may disguise itself as an ideology or as a religion or a social movement, but evil is always at the door.
2) We MUST remember that evil is clever. We must not underestimate how darn crafty our adversaries can be.
3) We MUST remain vigilant at all times. If we drop our guard (lax airport security, inadequate scrutiny of immigrants) we WILL be attacked. This is as true today as it was on September 12, 2001.
4) We MUST remember that we were attacked solely by rabid adherents of the religion of Islam, and ONLY Islam. We must NEVER loose sight of this fact. We were not attacked by Hindus or Buddhists or Shintos or Jews or Catholics or Protestants or Jains or “white supremacists”. On September 11, 2001 we were attacked only by Muslims, who were following a religious mandate unlike any other held by the world’s great faiths today. It is imperative to remember this even when considering the policy making decisions of today. We must not, for example, “ask for trouble” by welcoming into our arms those that want to harm us, for they WILL harm us when the opportunity arises. A very important lesson.
5) We MUST continue to maintain a strong military and strong police forces. We NEED them, and we need them to be strong.
6) We MUST maintain expert and well funded intelligence services, both at home and abroad. We must continue to monitor and investigate any and all possible enemies, even if it infringes on our sense of privacy. Although privacy is a treasured American value, the first duty of any government is the SAFETY of its people. We must profile our likely enemies even at the expense of the rights of minority groups. Although it is our tradition to respect the rights of minorities in our society, we have never had a minority group as hostile and dangerous as we have now. We MUST profile and monitor them, whether they like it or not, and, even, whether we like it or not. We MUST continue intense surveillance whether or not we are proud of it, for one simple reason: If we do not surveil adequately we WILL be attacked again. There is NO question about that. And we must also not shy away from interrogation techniques that can and do save innocent lives.
7) We MUST insist upon maintaining our Judeo-Christian values and our distinctive cultural heritage. We must NOT alter our laws or our way of life on the demand of vocal and aggrieved “cultural guests.” If we do alter our society, we will loose our cultural identity just as certainly as if we lost a war on the battlefield. If there are those in America, either immigrants or even those that are born here, that do not like, for what ever reason, our freedoms, our culture, our values and our heritage, they are free, of course, to move to a more hospitable host culture, where ever that may be. They are NOT free to impose their values on us.
Although I could continue with more lessons, I think I’ll stop here. If we can “Never Forget” just these, I think, eighteen Septembers on, we’ll be doing okay.