About 3,000 folks died in attacks on New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon on this date, 13 years ago.The death toll would almost certainly have been higher, if passengers and surviving crew of United Airlines Flight 93 had not attacked their hijackers. They died, probably because the Al Qaeda pilot deliberately flew into the ground.
Depending on their views, folks have commemorated the 9/11 attacks in many ways.
Some have declared that the attacks were justified, because America is a big meany. They usually express the idea in more sophisticated terms, of course.
Others say that Muslims are to blame: all Muslims. Still others take the more sweeping view that all religion is to blame.
I think there is a tiny element of truth in 'all of the above.'
Al Qaeda's leader at the time, Osama bin Laden, almost certainly had sincerely-held religious beliefs: and chose American targets in response to this country's profound lack of fidelity to his brand of Islam.
I like being an American, and am still upset that so many folks were killed by religious fanatics. But I am not going to rant about folks who don't follow my faith: or those who do, and behave badly.
Instead, I'm going to take a look at how some — but happily not all — Americans have reacted to Catholics, Jews, blacks, and other 'threats' to my country....
The rest of this post is in another blog:
- "Remembering 9/11, Living in a Big World"
A Catholic Citizen in America (September 11, 2014)
- "National September 11 Memorial Museum Opens: Some Folks Aren't Happy"
(May 15, 2014) - "Two Pools, Four Towers"
(September 11, 2013) - "September 11, 2001: Nine Years Later"
(September 11, 2010) - "Remembering 9/11"
(September 11, 2007) - "Six Years Ago, Tomorrow: Remembering 9/11"
(September 10, 2007)
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