Today, 9/11/2010, marks the ninth anniversary of an event that not only shattered the fabric of life here in America, but around the world. We marked the day with solemn services at Ground Zero and at the Pentagon and in a field in Pennsylvania. To those of us old enough at the time of 9/11 to understand the tragic implications of the ‘attack,’ today will always have meaning for us. But what about those innocent children…around the world…who were born after 9/11? What do we tell them? What do we hope that they will come to understand about a day that changed the world…again. And I say again, because the YBR stretches back thousands and thousands of years, and in the past there were a number of events that changed the world…forever.
What do I tell my grandchildren? That we lived in the dark ages? That we allowed fanatically rulers and leaders to take charge of the world? That even though it was the 21st Century, we were people with an 18th, 15th, 12th century mind?
I would first tell my grandchildren that there were far too many innocent victims as a result of 9/11. And those innocent victims not only include the people who lost their lives on that day, but the families of all who perished, and their friends, co-workers and the unselfish fire fighters, police and other men and women who rushed in to save lives. I would also like to tell them that each and every one of us alive at the time, no matter where we called home, was victims. And that list of victims even includes the people living in what we called enemy lands. I include them because while we suffered the loss of life, they suffered the loss of personal and individual freedom.
I would tell my grandchildren, if they asked me who was at fault, I would have to say that we were all at fault to some degree. I would say that because we live in a world where might is right and where far too many leaders still believe that it is far better to destroy than it is to build.
I would also have to tell them, as they got older, that history is a very sad story, and not because it has to be, but because we make it that way. I would even tell them that the three most powerful world religions are the enemy. I would hasten to add that the love that is supposed to be at the foundation of these three world religions is good and even holy, but the adherence to books filled with passages that call for the murder of ‘infidels’ is what makes the world such a dark and cold place.
I would tell my children that two forces are at war in the world: secularism and theism. Half the world accepts religious teachings, but only on specific Sabbath days. During the rest of the week, they try to keep the commandments, but their main purpose is to make a living. The other half of the world refuses to embrace anything that is secular and demands strict adherence to religious beliefs and teachings.
Here’s the rub, I would tell my grandchildren. Secularism is a religion. And in America, secularism has its holy scriptures. Maybe not as old as scriptures of the three great world religions, but nonetheless, our documents, i.e. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are considered to be secularism’s holy writings.
Fortunately we do have a voice in secularism. To those who believe ‘our’ holy writings were set in stone and should go unchallenged, there are those who believe that those ‘holy’ writings are subject to change…with notice.
And how would I answer my grandchildren if they asked me if another 9/11 could happen in their lifetime?
I would tell them that I want to believe that 9/11/2001 was the end of man killing man in the name of God. But, I would tell them that the only way that could ever happen is if instead of seeing the world as a place of many nations, we see it as one world with one people.
Might my grandchildren say I’m crazy? I hope so.
Leave a comment