My Take on the 9/11 Anniversary

I waited with this post until the solemn time of remembrance passed, until the flare up of the tragic wounds of the survivors, the victim’s families, and the Nation as a whole had a chance to be coated over again by the thickening scab of time. My post is meant neither to offer balm on the grief, nor disturb painful memories. It simply meant to remind us the hurt of others.

When the 9/11 anniversary preparations rolled out, we began to relive the incredulous moments of consternation on that tragic day. These past few days, through the media channels, in local events, and during private conversations we remembered, mourned, reflected, and celebrated. In spoken words, or silently deep in our soul, we were hoping that similar tragedy would never happen again. - OK, those of us with more grasp on reality knew that such things would happen again, but at least for a brief moment we consciously wished that it wouldn’t. -

But, how can we hope that such calamity won’t haunt us yet again if we refuse to contemplate over the events with a clear mind, critically evaluate the consequences of our actions, or simply face certain conspicuous facts?

I was hoping that during the days leading to the extensive commemorative programs and events, mention would be made of the “other” casualties of September 11: the tens, and very likely hundreds of thousands who died and many more who became displaced from their homes in Iraq in the fallout of the mass murder of our own civilians here in the US. Amidst the anguish of our pain, I heard very little about those “other” victims in the course of private conversations, and none from the main stream media.

At the risk of sounding drab I state here the obvious: life is precious to all of us. Taking away life is always regrettable and nearly always condemnable. Taking away innocent life is sinful. This sin was committed by the terrorists of 9/11 and they coaxed us into a questionable adventure resulting in massive loss of innocent lives in Iraq. The dubious concept of “preemptive war” was resurrected and the consequences jolted the whole world while causing enormous devastation in the ancient land of Mesopotamia. Blood was shed, properties destroyed, families torn apart, girls and women raped, boys and men tortured; a sad testimony of intellectual break-down indeed on both sides of the invisible front lines.

No, I don’t intend to analyze political or military concepts here, this is not the time to do that. This is the time to remember and to heal. Along this line however, I’d like to bring to attention a nearly overlooked fact: for every innocent victim of the Twin Towers, there were 30-50 similarly innocent victims in Iraq; victims who had nothing to do whatsoever with 9/11! They were simply the victims of a political doctrine, a concept that would have deserved a bit more analysis before being put to practice.

Around this time of the greatest tragedy of this Land, let us remember all the innocent victims!