It is important for us on September 11th this year to give some thought to how our lives have changed since those awful events of 10 year ago. Reliving the tragedy will not be sufficient. How have our lives been changed?
Jim Wallis suggests that we have lost our innocence as a nation and have acquired a sense of vulnerability that the rest of the world generally knows. Has that made us more suspicious or more generous? Has that caused us to withdraw or venture forth?
How have we changed in 10 years?
One of the enduring images of the original 9/11 was the sense of togetherness that we experienced as a nation. Obviously, we have lost that. Politicians play to our selfish interests and our competitive nature and have succeeded in pitting us against each other. Tragically, we view each other as much a threat as the people who wish to do us harm. That is a sad eventuality and, I think, a mockery of the sacrifices made by the heroes of 9/11.
We are put in a position to reassess who we are as we look back to the events of 10 years ago and to think about our future as a nation.
I believe we can repair relationships and we can rebuild a national sense of trust without having another tragedy to bring us together. I certainly hope that is true.
What do you think we have done in the past 10 years to honor those who died?
How do you think we have done well by them?
How do you wish we had acted differently?
I look forward to your responses. Write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your response click on the 'comments' box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
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