In Our View: Strength in Unity

Even from the perspective of 3,000 miles away, the images were horrifying.

The physical divide between the Northwest and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, created what could only be described as a feeling of helplessness. We could merely watch on TV as the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed into rubble. As an airliner crashed into The Pentagon. As word arrived that yet another plane had crashed in a Pennsylvania field.

For many Americans who lived through 9/11, reaction to that day remains visceral. And it should. Perhaps only the Pearl Harbor attacks of Dec. 7, 1941, can compare as a violation to our sense of security. But Pearl Harbor took aim at military targets at a time when the winds of war were blowing; 9/11 was an attack upon civilians going about their business, the kind of violation that could happen anywhere.

Today marks the 17th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, a seminal day in American history that has largely defined the past two decades of foreign policy and domestic debate. And this modern day of infamy calls for remembrance of the dead and for an examination of our nation’s response.

Officially, 2,977 victims were killed when Islamic extremists hijacked four commercial airliners and turned them into missiles. In the years since, thousands of first responders have suffered from health problems related to inhaling toxic chemicals during rescue efforts. Two iconic skyscrapers in the heart of Manhattan were destroyed, and the building that is the epicenter of the nation’s military was crippled. The physical costs of 9/11 have been incalculable.

So, too, have the emotional costs.

In the initial aftermath of the attacks, the result was a united nation with an inspiring sense of shared purpose. Like the mythical turning of coal into diamonds, the extreme pressure of 9/11 created a unified populace, one driven by the fact that we are Americans above all else.

There have been glimmers of such unity since then. When a natural disaster strikes the homes and livelihoods of fellow citizens, we muster our resolve to demonstrate what it means to be Americans. But there is little doubt that our sense of unity has given way to discord, conflict and tumult in the intervening years. Fixing that is a complex endeavor, and it is instructive to reflect upon the aftermath of 9/11 and those feelings that brought us together.

The response was one of clarity and purpose. Within months, the United States invaded Afghanistan, which provided safe harbor for terrorists intent upon sowing death and chaos. That cause was just, but the fact that U.S. forces are still engaged in Afghanistan represents a miscalculation of what exactly could be accomplished. Meanwhile, the administration of President George W. Bush lost its way with an invasion of Iraq. The simultaneous wars created waves that continue to reverberate.

Now, 17 years later, it remains unclear whether the United States’ reaction to 9/11 has made our nation stronger or has weakened it. We can be thankful that added security measures have prevented a mass attack approaching the scale of that day. We can be concerned that the unity of the time is a distant memory. Anger persists, and it often is manifested in xenophobia; resolve remains, but it often is undermined by political differences.

As another anniversary of 9/11 arrives, Americans must recognize that we are strongest when we stand together. And we must hope that it doesn’t take another disaster for that realization to hit home.