On the morning of September 11, 2001- people went to work, and got on airplanes and didn’t think twice about it. It was just another work day and another flight. People took their places in their cubicles and stepped into elevators. They got out of taxi cabs, buses, trains and walked upon the streets and sidewalks of Manhattan’s financial district. It was just another morning in a mundane work week.
In a matter of moments everything changed. Time stood still. Every citizen of the United States held their breath, stopped what they were doing, and planted themselves in front of a television. Many of us didn’t see the first plane hit the first tower, but we saw the second. “The United States is under attack.” We hadn’t heard those words since Pearl Harbor, and there are probably very few alive now, who can remember where they were when they heard those words.
Because of the shock and the bravery, and the subsequent feeling of national pride- we came together as a country. How long did that feeling last and how complete was it? I am not sure that Muslim Americans would agree that we all came together. People started wearing their patriotism on their sleeves. We started singing God Bless America at baseball games. We went to war!
Every year on September 11 there are services of remembrance to mark the occasion. We are encouraged to observe a moment of silence and we are reminded to ‘never forget.’ I don’t think we will forget the vacant and desperate feeling when 3000 lives perished. It wasn’t a virtual experience or a graphic video game, it was visceral and real. It was charged with emotion.
On September 11, 2020- we are mourning the loss of 192,000 USAmerican lives. We haven’t gone to war. We can’t even agree how we should fight the Coronavirus that has had a role in claiming so many lives. We still wage a battle in the war on terrorism, yet we lack a united front in the pandemic. We were so quick to sing the words, “Freedom isn’t free” then, but now there is such a tremendous lack of trust that people don’t want to pay the simple fee of wearing a mask in public because it is an infringement on their rights.
On the morning of September 11, I am torn between the staggering loss of life that has taken place over the last six months. I compare the loss of 3000 in one day with the loss of 192,000 spread out over six months (imagine 1000 a day for 192 days in a row). If you could prevent the terrorist attacks- you would. If you could prevent a Covid-19 attack—would you? I am torn because I want to honor the lives that were lost in 2001, and not belittle them by resorting to an oversimplification of what is going on in the time of a pandemic. Is it because we know there is no vaccine that we are just accepting that about 1000 people will die each day in our country, and that is the sacrifice we are willing to accept? Have we become numb to the math because it is slowly dragging on and not sudden, or a surprise attack!
Our country, our nation is great when it comes together. When our nation rallies to the beat of a single drum with one common goal there is nothing that we can’t accomplish. We can sing “God Bless America,” and we can put our hands over our hearts and say, “One nation under God,” but they are hollow words until we live those words as a prayer. I believe in God. I believe we can be a blessing for our nation and the world. I believe that freedom isn’t free. I believe that the sacrifice made by Jesus was made for all.
On this morning, September 11, 2020, I pause to remember the sacrifice made by all who are willing to make the largest and seemingly smallest sacrifices for our community, nation and world.
