Twenty-one years ago to the day, 11 September 2001, nineteen jihadist terrorists from
al-Qaeda murdered 2,977 innocents by hijacking four airliners, three of which were crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City & the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; the fight back began with the passengers & crew of the fourth airliner, leading to that plane's crash in a Pennsylvania field, instead of into the suspect target, the Capitol in Washington, D.C. 'Twas due to the bravery of the passengers & crew of United Flight 93 that "Let's roll" became a battle cry.
On 11 September 2001, Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban & was a sanctuary for
al-Qaeda & associated jihadist terrorist groups. On 11 September 2022, Afghanistan is again ruled by the Taliban & is again a sanctuary for jihadist terrorist groups such as
al-Qaeda &
Daesh-Khorasan (I.S.I.S.-K.). What did we achieve for all the blood & treasure expended over those twenty years of war (or, as many have decried, those twenty one-year wars)?
There was a moment of ephemeral national unity after 9/11. Every president since the "day of fire" has campaigned as a uniter, a president for all Americans, yet the general feeling is that we are more divided than we have every been, that the United States is fraying, not just at the edges but at the very center. We can't even agree on common terms anymore, & everyone regards everyone else with suspicion & hostility. I don't know if that is the reality, but such is the
Zeitgeist, the spirit of the age. At some point, we are going to have to ask ourselves if we are willing to live with each other, to forgive & tolerate each other. We are going to have to think back to 9/11 & that brief, grief- & shock-fueled moment of unity. Can we get that back minus the trauma of a massive national tragedy?
The official motto of the United States of America is:
In God we trust.
The traditional motto of the United States is:
"E pluribus unum" ("From many, one").
The only way we are going to be united is if we recommit ourselves to those founding priciples. We cannot cut ourselves off from the past; the concept of "Year Zero" can only ever lead to the Killing Fields of Cambodia. We are many; we are not bound by blood & soil. The only way we, as many, can ever be one, is in the One in Whom we trust. I'm not advocating, as the social media "integralists" do, for altar & throne; the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of this earth. Religious pluralism is foundational to the United States of America, for good or for ill. The Bill of Rights—Amendment I to the United States Constitution—enshrines the "free exercise of religion," not as the malevolent claim, "freedom from religion."
The malasise that plagues us now is the inevitable & predictable result of adopting atheism as our civic religion. The consequences of this are legion & malefic. Politics has been elevated over discourse, partisanship is prized above virtue, & freedom has been cheapened from freedom for excellence to simple license. In the words of the late Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., "We have become a society that permits everything, but forgives nothing." We have forgotten how unique & radical the Christian ideal of forgiveness is; the forgiveness of sins & the love of enemies was utterly known to the pagan Greeks & Romans that the darkling "Age of Enlightenment" promoted as an alternative to now twenty-one centuries of Christian patrimony.
Four airliners were hijacked by jihdists & used as weapons to strike at the Pentagon, the World Trade Center, & likely the United States Captol. Almost three thousand innocents & the nineteen hijackers died. Those of us who are old enough to remember will never forget where were were when we first learned that the Twin Towers had fallen, 11 September 2001, twenty-one years ago today.
The Wayback Machine Tour of 9/11
Patriot Day '21 /
Patriot Day '20
Patriot Day '19 /
Patriot Day '18
Patriot Day '17 /
Patriot Day '15
Patriot Day '13 /
Patriot Day '11
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Patriot Day
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "America the Beautiful" from
A Saturday Tradition (Mike Papa Whiskey)
Never forget.
