Seven years ago a small group of people transformed the direction and destroyed the confidence of an entire nation.
I say "transformed" because I hope that we would not have given in to our baser instincts for revenge and xenophobia without such a provocation. It is hard to imagine a "Patriot Act" being passed at the dawn of the 21st century, just as hard as it is to believe that the US has changed its mind about who deserves civil rights and what constitutes a sovereign nation. Who would have expected our country to enact draconian restrictions on travel for anyone who loses a technological lottery that places them on a God-like list of those who can't be trusted? Who knew that the US was capable of reacting to fear by giving up much of what makes us free in order to find some illusion of safety?
I suppose stepwise refinement isn't as morally satisfying as we wish it would be. After all, just over 65 years ago we rounded up and stuck into camps everyone inside the US borders who looked like, spoke like, or descended from the people who harmed us. This time, we reacted with bigotry and misunderstanding but at least the instances of direct government harassment were mostly limited to individuals. Inside the borders of the US, they were so limited.
I don't despair, because I think this nation is too filled with people of good will to allow such a reaction to be permanent. I am sad for the time it will take to recover our self-image and our moral compass. I am concerned for my grandchildren, who may not themselves see the end of living in a nation despised by the world - though they will build the future that overcomes it.
In my own way, I pray that the 8th anniversary of this event will see us beginning to rise above the reactions that put us here. I fear that even if change comes to pass aggression will be turned inward to tear at those who made the mistakes - not in a spirit of prevention but in a spirit of revenge and punishment for "those not like us". This will change nothing and will only impress our neighbors anew with the savage natures that lie beneath our thin veil of urbanity and education.
Someday, may we honor those who died by saying that they truly rest in Peace.
I say "transformed" because I hope that we would not have given in to our baser instincts for revenge and xenophobia without such a provocation. It is hard to imagine a "Patriot Act" being passed at the dawn of the 21st century, just as hard as it is to believe that the US has changed its mind about who deserves civil rights and what constitutes a sovereign nation. Who would have expected our country to enact draconian restrictions on travel for anyone who loses a technological lottery that places them on a God-like list of those who can't be trusted? Who knew that the US was capable of reacting to fear by giving up much of what makes us free in order to find some illusion of safety?
I suppose stepwise refinement isn't as morally satisfying as we wish it would be. After all, just over 65 years ago we rounded up and stuck into camps everyone inside the US borders who looked like, spoke like, or descended from the people who harmed us. This time, we reacted with bigotry and misunderstanding but at least the instances of direct government harassment were mostly limited to individuals. Inside the borders of the US, they were so limited.
I don't despair, because I think this nation is too filled with people of good will to allow such a reaction to be permanent. I am sad for the time it will take to recover our self-image and our moral compass. I am concerned for my grandchildren, who may not themselves see the end of living in a nation despised by the world - though they will build the future that overcomes it.
In my own way, I pray that the 8th anniversary of this event will see us beginning to rise above the reactions that put us here. I fear that even if change comes to pass aggression will be turned inward to tear at those who made the mistakes - not in a spirit of prevention but in a spirit of revenge and punishment for "those not like us". This will change nothing and will only impress our neighbors anew with the savage natures that lie beneath our thin veil of urbanity and education.
Someday, may we honor those who died by saying that they truly rest in Peace.
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