Sep
11
Fear and 9/11
Eight years ago today I was meeting with a friend when he got the call. Something had struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Our country was under attack! I raced home with my heart pounding and my mind racing to turn on the news. Were we at war? Were more attacks coming? Was this the beginning of the long awaited WWIII? I was afraid and wondered what this would mean for our nation’s future? What would it mean for my families future?
Eight years later, I have come to see that my worst fears were not realized but other things, (that I would never have imagined), have come as a result of those attacks. Our nation has invaded two countries. We have willingly surrendered many freedoms that we once enjoyed. We have detained and tortured people without the standard of evidence that has made our legal system one of the greatest in the world. Once a proud, confident people we have become a fearful people doing things we once thought unimaginable.
I remember learning in school about the Japanese internment camps during WWII. These were the places where Japanese Americans were taken because people feared they would side with their native country in our war with Japan. I remember being perplexed at how the America I knew could have done such a thing. After 9/11, I now understand. The Patriot Act, Guantanamo, and Homeland Security all have flowed from our fears of future attacks and led us to sacrifice our freedoms, values, and morals. Muslim Americans have not been treated as poorly as Japanese Americans but many have been discriminated against, detained without charges, and even falsely accused and imprisoned all in the name of “National Security”. We have become so afraid of experiencing another 9/11 that we don’t mind having our phones, emails, or even web surfing monitored for “Security Purposes”. We assume when someone is accused of terrorism it is better to be safe than sorry, even if there is no credible evidence.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t blame the government, any particular politician, or political party for these things. I blame us. We have allowed fear to guide us. We have excused the actions of our government because we are afraid. We have allowed fear of another 9/11 to steal our freedoms. The terrorist of 9/11 were not trying to destroy our country with those four airplanes, they were trying to destroy our way of life. Eight years later, I would have to say that they were successful because fear now drives much of our public policy and national interests. Franklin Roosevelt once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Haven’t the last eight years proved his point?
There is a better way for us to deal with the things we fear. The Bible tells us to turn to God, place our trust in Him, and to choose not to be afraid because He is with us (Jeremiah 29:11, Proverb 3:5-6, Joshua 1:6-9, Matthew 28:20). This is by no means a guaranty that we will be protected from future attacks or that nothing bad will ever happen. But it does mean that we can avoid making matters worse because we are trying so hard to avoid future pain. As much as we might like to, we can’t control the future. We can only choose how we live in the present. And as for me, I choose to not be afraid or to act out of fear. How about you?