All of us who lived that 9/11 day eighteen years ago will never forget. That fateful Tuesday started out full of promise with a cloudless sky and mild temperatures until the first plane, American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower of 1 World Trade Center at 8:46 AM. A second plane, United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower seventeen minutes later. By 10:28 AM both towers had collapsed and New York City was shrouded in darkness with the Statue of Liberty the only beacon of light as it stood in front of the angry, swirling dark clouds of smoke and dust.
Even though evil took hold of New York City as well as Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, PA that 2001-day, good prevailed. First responder heroes risked and gave their lives to save many and people came together worldwide putting aside differences created by borders and political leadership. Americans too put aside their differences giving the United States a newfound opportunity that was sadly squandered.
For myself who had seen the burning towers, the twisted wreckage and dust-covered gray landscape in and around Ground Zero, breathed its acrid and toxic fumes, and have known people who had tragically died that day like so many downstate New Yorkers, today’s America, excluding the country’s historically inclusive economic prosperity, is an affront.
The United States is the most divided since the Civil War (1861-1865) with each side so entrenched and unwilling to listen to another’s view or compromise the country seems headed towards violent dissolution. At the same time first Amendment rights of “Freedom of Speech,” “Freedom of Religion” and “Freedom of the Press” are under attack. In fact some are so emboldened they even call for the U.S. Constitution to be replaced by some new document that would no doubt remove guaranteed rights and create an intolerant one-party totalitarian model based solely on their ideology where dissent or difference of opinion could lead to “re-education," imprisonment or even execution. Suggestions about creating death camps and concentration camps have already gained acceptance with some.
Fascist right wing “nationalist” and “supremacist” groups are resurgent leading to an increase in hate crimes against non-Whites, Jews and Muslims. Likewise fascist groups on the left such as ANTIFA violently attack people who diverge from their ideology including members of the media and law enforcement. And as each side projects their hate onto others to sow division, there is no civility such that growing numbers of people are afraid to express their opinions fearful of being shunned, fired, harassed, or physically attacked. If something like 9/11 happened today there would undoubtedly be many who would celebrate for their own political and ideological gain. Symptomatic of this revulsive environment, one person even cynically said of the brave NYPD and FDNY heroes who sacrificed their lives so not one person would be left to die that day – they “committed suicide since they did not have to go into [the burning towers]!”
The United States is the most divided since the Civil War (1861-1865) with each side so entrenched and unwilling to listen to another’s view or compromise the country seems headed towards violent dissolution. At the same time first Amendment rights of “Freedom of Speech,” “Freedom of Religion” and “Freedom of the Press” are under attack. In fact some are so emboldened they even call for the U.S. Constitution to be replaced by some new document that would no doubt remove guaranteed rights and create an intolerant one-party totalitarian model based solely on their ideology where dissent or difference of opinion could lead to “re-education," imprisonment or even execution. Suggestions about creating death camps and concentration camps have already gained acceptance with some.
Fascist right wing “nationalist” and “supremacist” groups are resurgent leading to an increase in hate crimes against non-Whites, Jews and Muslims. Likewise fascist groups on the left such as ANTIFA violently attack people who diverge from their ideology including members of the media and law enforcement. And as each side projects their hate onto others to sow division, there is no civility such that growing numbers of people are afraid to express their opinions fearful of being shunned, fired, harassed, or physically attacked. If something like 9/11 happened today there would undoubtedly be many who would celebrate for their own political and ideological gain. Symptomatic of this revulsive environment, one person even cynically said of the brave NYPD and FDNY heroes who sacrificed their lives so not one person would be left to die that day – they “committed suicide since they did not have to go into [the burning towers]!”
From the political front, the attempted coup, a concept so un-American and unimaginable, has failed for the time being. The 2020 election cannot come soon enough to put an end to continued efforts to bring about this coup. Washington, D.C. is hopelessly divided with each political party engaged in zero sum politics. No one wants to work together and candidates vow retribution against their opponents. It also does not help the American media has lost objectivity and taken sides – in the process undermining their first amendment cause and furthering the divide.
At the same time, people of faith are demonized, churches, synagogues and mosques are labeled “hate organizations” and attempts are made to reinvent America through a “cultural revolution” that destroys historic monuments and purges our history books of some 200 years of history.
Likewise the American economic model that ensures the greatest economic freedom and highest standards of living is under serious attack; calls for socialism resonate loudly especially among a younger generation that mistakenly believes government is the solution to all problems, demands a guaranteed income for all and the expropriation of property and assets of the so-called wealthy class to make it happen.
Add the growing attacks on life – the idea of post-birth abortions, spread of euthanasia, and calls for population control and these are dark days indeed for America. History has proven time and time again that such demagoguery, intolerance, the purging of rights, population control and cultural and economic revolutions lead to mass exterminations of innocent people through pogroms and famine and the rise of the likes of Adolf Hitler.
As one takes time to remember that profound 9/11 day in 2001, the heroes who sacrificed their lives that day, the many first responders dying from cancers caused by the Ground Zero fallout, the 2,977[1] innocent civilians indiscriminant of religion (yes Muslims too were victims despite misguided blame on their religion) and nationality – men, women and children alike who died, some of whom some of us knew as friends or family, and the 9/11 families who painfully endure permanent emptiness from their loss, a loss so great it has robbed future generations of countless people who will never be born – we can only pray for a return of the 9/11 goodwill and that America discovers healing, common purpose and tolerance that bridges every race, gender, religion and trait that makes each person so unique, special and individual and is a nation where all lives matter from the moment of conception to the last breath.
_________As one takes time to remember that profound 9/11 day in 2001, the heroes who sacrificed their lives that day, the many first responders dying from cancers caused by the Ground Zero fallout, the 2,977[1] innocent civilians indiscriminant of religion (yes Muslims too were victims despite misguided blame on their religion) and nationality – men, women and children alike who died, some of whom some of us knew as friends or family, and the 9/11 families who painfully endure permanent emptiness from their loss, a loss so great it has robbed future generations of countless people who will never be born – we can only pray for a return of the 9/11 goodwill and that America discovers healing, common purpose and tolerance that bridges every race, gender, religion and trait that makes each person so unique, special and individual and is a nation where all lives matter from the moment of conception to the last breath.
[1] Casualties of the September 11 attacks. Wikipedia. 10 September 2019. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_September_11_attacks
Note: Header image was created from photographs of World Trade Center remains and torn American flag caught on razor wire, I took on 20 October 2011, Ground Zero, New York, NY and 24 January 2015, Bronx, NY respectively to symbolize the horrors of 11 September 2001 and the current and growing destruction of American values modeled on freedom and equal rights and protections for all.
Valfal has addedIn a recently-published paper, University of California, Irvine, Professor of Political Science and Psychology & Social Behavior Shawn W. Rosenberg gloomily concluded:
Considering the current conditions and trajectory of democratic politics, our conclusion is clear. Even, or perhaps particularly in well-established democracies like the United States, democratic governance will continue its inexorable decline and will eventually fail. The alternative that will supersede democracy, right wing populism, is also clear. It offers the understandings the people can readily comprehend, the values they can readily appreciate and the direction of speech and action they can readily follow. This triumph of right wing populism over democracy was averted in early 20th century because of a felicitous combination of a circumstantial distribution of power between nations and, ironically, the insufficiently democratized way of life of any one of them. However such a happy result is unlikely now.
To conclude, we can ask if this trajectory and the promised results are inevitable. I think the answer is probably yes.
In a context where human rights are being rolled back in Poland and Austria, where ethno-nationalism is rearing its ugly head in France, self-destructive Brexit is being pushed by populists in the United Kingdom, and nativist neo-isolationism is skewing policy in Washington, one can be tempted to conclude that the sun truly is setting on democratic governance.
However, this isn't the first time such predictions have been made. Moreover, the world's democratic nations and their people have overcome much greater challenges during the course of human history. Democratic governance provides the kind of flexibility necessary for overcoming crises and adapting to change no other forms of governance provides.
What choice the people make in such countries as the United States, France, and the United Kingdom will ultimately determine how the future plays out. Given the resilience and persistence one finds in history, I'm still placing my bet on a better outcome.
William Sutherland club has replied to Peggy C clubSince then you shouldn't get too deeply into the rumors.
who are vagrant with this day.
Well over 5000 people are the victims...
not to think of what others still expect.
Nato had the same day,
I think article 5 has been activated, causing a storm.
Congress didn't plan to do that too long ago,
the payments of aid for medical treatment and financial assistance
to cease compensation.
There's a speech that was made to Congress,
which makes quite sad and shows how it was handled.
Then the decision was made in Julie/June,
to continue to make these payments for an indefinite period.
We are talking about thousands of victims.
The world has changed that day.
Total surveillance and paranoia.
"Ground Zero" was memorized, even though the meaning for this
term was a different one until then.
It also remains to the children who were born after this day
to report about it.
Countless questions remain unanswered.
Back then as now, I still consider the 9/11 commission report the most accurate information about the attacks despite conspiracy theories and rumors that cannot be proven. That doesn't mean there aren't unanswered questions and yes, aside for the death toll of that day, based on the first responders who have died since, the toll probably is in excess of 5,000.
I also agree, it was shameful how the first responders who gave so much that day had to practically beg congress to continue funding their medical treatment. It never should've come to this. For service to the country they should get the best medical treatment for life without consideration of cost. I know one of these first responders who is now about 56 years-old and you could say he is one of the "lucky" ones since his respiratory issues are presently under control thanks to a daily cocktail of medicines.
Peggy C club has replied to William Sutherland clubWe have to talk to each other ... not with a cell phone in our hands and the person you call is across the room --- really talk.
Maybe one day front porches will be back en vogue so people can spend quality time together. In this age, I could see people sitting on the front porch next to each other texting back and forth too rather than talking among each other. :(
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