9/11 Thoughts

Yesterday at work, I spent a lot of time thinking about 9/11. 9/11 is now a national day of service, and since I work at a volunteer center, we focused on how people could remember those who lost their lives on that day through service. It was nice. It really helped me deal with the emotions of the day by focusing on good that could be done.

Then, I got in my car to head home, I heard a news clip from Romney, about how, as president, he would work to increase our military size and strength so that no one would dare attack us. And its not that he is a Republican that I am saying this (I would have the same comment if Obama was the one making such a statement) but we had a strong military, and we were attacked. While I was too naive at the time, I have come to think differently about 9/11 and what it means about America's standing in the world. While at George Mason, I had a professor, Richard Rubenstein, who was interviewed the day after the attacks because he was an expert on the Middle East and terrorism. The interviewer asked, in a very confused and angry tone, what kind of people would commit such a cowardly act. He response is what no one expected to hear:

The al-Qaeda attacks were motivated not just by malice and fanaticism, but also by opposition to the U.S. policies in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Israel/Palestine. Usama bin Laden had made that clear in his public statements. We certainly needed to bring the perpetrators to justice, but we also need to think about why our policies in the Muslim nations were generating so much hatred and anger... Many people still perceive the terrorists who perpetrated the attacks as devils, which removes them from the universe of historical causes and effects. (From: Reasons to Kill: Why Americans Choose War)

The University's phones lit up almost immediately, calling for him to be fired, but because of the academic protections that enable the exploration of ideas and research, he was fine. But his point, that while hard to hear, and even harder to understand in the midst of such trauma is an important one, I feel. And we have not yet learned the lesson. As Romney uses the anniversary of 9/11 to demonstrate why we need a strong military, I would propose a different lesson: We learn the lessons of history, understand the actions taken on behalf of the United States leading to the attacks, understand the liberties we have sacrificed since 9/11, honor those who have died on all sides, and commit to do better.