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Two years later, is it time to let Sept. 11 rest?
Two years ago on Sept. 11 our country was the victim of an unprovoked attack on the symbols that represent what this nation holds as its greatest strengths. Our government was prompted to take military action against the aggressors who operate all over the world, particularly in Afghanistan, where our troops remain vigilant in their fight to ensure the survival of the new government established there. Perhaps success in Afghanistan gave our national and military leaders the confidence and resolve to deal with other hotspots in the Middle East to preserve our interests as well as the security of nations friendly to the United States. This is part of the reason our leaders give as to why we went into Iraq. Even now we have troops there, and the things going on there are altering world politics to degrees that haven’t been seen for almost 60 years. Two years ago our country was changed — some say wounded — not only in the realm of cold economic, military and political statistics. Our people themselves were changed or wounded by images seen on television, by the fear of disaster never before felt by this generation, by the change in the way we see ourselves in relation to other people, and by the way we see our place in this world as Americans. Many have been left with scars from the attacks. They dread to see the images of the falling buildings lest it conjure the feelings of grief that day or they feel that revisiting the day breeds anger and nationalism. Some say the media has sensationalized the attacks from the day they occurred and it does no good to remind people of what they felt that day, and in order to let people heal, Sept. 11 should be allowed to pass into history. So the news media is faced with questions: do the attacks, having happened 24 months ago, still merit attention? Is the value of remembering that day and the people who died outweighed by the need some have to let the attack pass into distant memory? Certainly the attack on Pearl Harbor or the sinking of the passenger ship Lusitania were events of the same caliber as Sept. 11 that changed the course of our country’s involvement in the world. Both cost the lives of Americans going about their business, yet somewhere through the years they have ceased to be events that stir the same feelings of shock and anger as the day they occurred. How long in too long to allow Sept. 11 be something that conjures tragic images, painful memories or angry thoughts? When, then, is it time to allow Sept. 11 to fade into the past so that full healing can occur? Not yet. Unlike the attacks on Pearl Harbor or the Lusitania, which served to prompt generations to make decisions that they carried out to the end, our leaders, citizens and troops are still working to close this chapter in America’s history. The occurrences of Sept. 11 set off a chain of events that are still changing the world. We still have troops fighting this war away from home, our nation is still on edge, ready in the event of an attack, our nation still engages in foreign relations under the consideration of their support for terrorists and our nation is still resolved to bring an end to the threat of terrorism. Perhaps once we have pacified threats to our nation and our interests, have made the world safer from tyranny and made a few more people freer to live for themselves, wounds suffered on that day will heal, leaving only a faint scar of remembrance. Until then though, it is our responsibility to remind ourselves of Sept. 11 so we can keep the resolve and sense of purpose we had when we began the long road that will ultimately result in true closure and healing. — Responses to this editorial can be sent to collegian@csufresno.edu |
