It's seven years, to the moment as I begin typing this post, that the attacks began. It's strange to think how much life has returned to normal since then. But, at the same time, it is sad to think how different things are. Have you tried to board a plane after the attacks? Have you tried to just walk up the front steps of Congress, or even take a tour since the attacks? Do you know anyone who has a seven year old son or daughter, who never met their dad?
The attacks, in many ways, defined the politics--good and bad--of this decade. We have troops in harm's way not just in Afghanistan and Iraq, but in remote parts of Africa and the Middle East. Plus, our efforts abroad have had their ups and downs. Shockingly, a new worldwide poll shows that most people abroad don't think Al Qaeda was responsible for the attacks. In Europe, the poll shows a ridiculously, and disturbingly, large percentage of people believe the U.S. government caused the attacks. In the Middle East, even larger numbers blame Israel. Logic and evidence don't seen to be working. More striking, it seems there is no longer much of a reserve of good will for America.
After Pearl Harbor, our troops went to distant lands, but they, who survived--like my grandfathers--were home and starting families well before the seven-year mark. Hitler, Tojo, and Mussolini were all dead within four years. Totalitarian governments--other than the victorious Communists--were wiped out. The world was a very different place seven years after the attack.
But our world is still facing the same threats as it did, unknowingly, seven years ago. Progress has certainly been made; the U.S. has not been hit again. Maybe it's part luck, but it is certainly also because of an increase in our safety measures. But with those measures, we've seen a decrease in our quality of life: my kids could just run up the steps of Congress, like I used to, as one small example. Seven years after Pearl Harbor and Americans' quality of life was drastically improving. This is a different sort of war, as the attacks--on civilians mainly--were a different sort of trauma.
Today we should take a moment to pray for those making us safer as we go about our same-as-usual lives--even if we don't agree with them politically. In a lot of ways, the fact that today feels pretty much the same as it did seven years and one day ago, is a testament to the fine work of our public servants.
And we should also take a moment to remember those who left us seven years ago today, those who just showed up to work to provide for themselves and their families, and those firefighters, police, and servicemen who sacrificed everything to help save some. "No greater love..."
Here's what we saw seven years ago:
Remember,
Thomas More
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