Sept 11, 2011

The anniversary of the attacks of September 11th, 2001 is upon us again. The shock, fear, and pain has dulled over the past decade, but it takes little effort to remember where we were on that fateful day. For most on the East Coast, it was just the beginning of another day at work, college, school, or life in general. Some rode the elevator to the upper floors of the Trade Center. Others boarded planes for a multitude of destinations. And more gathered their Gear for another day at the firehouse. The only people that knew what that day would hold were the murderers that planned this act. I daresay that some of those 1st Responders would not have changed anything if they had known.
        In the ten years that have passed people have married, had children, divorced, died of natural causes, or otherwise lived their lives. Outside of that, men and women have fought, been wounded, or died on foreign soil in the name of retribution. Later, the purpose for their combat was muddied under the strain of reports of abuse, civilian casualities, false intelligence, and questionable interrogation tactics. Now these soldiers are burdoned with the memories of combat gained from multiple tours. Some suffer physical wounds that will last a lifetime, others are missing limbs, and still others bear the brunt of mental health issues. I would imagine that less of these "1st Responders" would do it all over again.
        Now we are being asked by the media to decide for ourselves whether we are safer ten years later? Some have even asked if we are better off than we were ten years ago? I believe safety to be a relative factor. While I believe that we are at less risk of murderers taking over a passenger plane and using it as a missle, I believe we are at no less risk of a lone plotter detonating a car bomb on a busy city street. In a more general study, what is life when safety overtakes living? One cannot be a contributing part of this world and not be exposed to disease, threat of violence, risk of injury, or worse yet, a differance of opinion. If safety means a protective and isolating bubble, I don't want it.
       I am not sure how our country could have gotten "better", given the extended wars we have fought and the finicial diseaster that still assails us. Nothing can be better when hundreds of thousands of people are without jobs that keep a roof over their heads, food on their tables, and shoes on their feet. As if it couldn't get any worse, these same people are now at the end of their government support. Nevermind that the U.S. government is nearing the end of its own support system. No, I believe it dangerous to say anything is better than it was ten years ago. Even if only because we cannot view the world through rose colored glasses anymore.
      The final questions is, what do we do with the past decade and where do we go from here? I believe September 11th was a horrible tragedy of unspeakable depth. Thousands died in the blink of an eye at the hands of other people. But to say the tragedy ended once the recovery was complete is ignoring the unfathomable depths of the years and decade that followed. We must also mourn our soldiers, innocent casualties of American weapons, and the culture that brought young men to battle and die for our attackers. Human life deserves more than what we offered in our wounded dog response to September 11th.
          Where we go from here is no longer up to people. The ways to peace have been obscured from us and despite a draw down from combat, we will continue to see battles fought and lives lost. Our "leadership" does not have wisdom and does not know where to find it. The "American Christian Church" has done nothing but beat the drums of war and minimilize the works of Jesus Christ. Unsaved people are driven off by the people that have saddled themselves to the Gospel. As a follower of Christ, we must be vigilant because we know that the Lord can return like a thief in the night. But, we must also know that not even the Lord Jesus knows when He will return. We must be prepared for the long haul, instead of hoping for heaven, we should be working to bring His kingdom here. Faith without acts is dead and this world needs acts.
        Jesus said that the most important commandment is to love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind. The second most important commandment is to love people. All of the commandments fall into either of those two categories. This is the crux of Jesus' message. We must love because He first loved us. We demonstrate love by extending grace and forgiveness, even when it is undeserving. We must show love.