Yesterday was 9/11. I missed it. But I do remember 12/7, a day that will live in infamy forever. Japan was ruled by hyper-aggressive military bigots. They gave us a bloody nose and thought we would concede to a negotiated peace. I was 2 years-old at the time. My memory can’t dredge up stuff from 1941 but I watched the old news reels and heard the speech so many times, I remember the date that will live in infamy.
September 11, 2001 is similar in some ways but very different in others. It was a sneak attack with airplanes to be sure. Thousands of Americans were killed and the cost in dollars was immense but the perpetrators had little in common with Japanese generals. If one wants to frame 9/11 in the light of World War 2 then the 9/11 raid on New York would be more like the Jimmy Doolittle raid on Tokyo in April of 1942. It was an airborne, sneak attack on a mighty power. The Doolittle mission dropped their bombs and made their escape while 9/11 was a suicide mission. More than the damage, they both sent a message. “You can’t treat us this way and think we will roll over and play dead.” It was a warning, “This is just the beginning, there’s more to come.”
The Doolittle raid featured Admiral Chester Nimitz and lead pilot, Jimmy Doolittle; heroes of the highest order. The New York raid was led by Osama bin Laden and Mohamed Atta, heroes in their own right. If you were a devout, middle eastern muslim who hated the U.S.A., you would name your kids after them. The difference; we won WW2 and it’s no secret that history books are written by the winners. Osama bin Laden and his followers have been hunted down and eliminated but thousands of like minded muslims continue to hate us, would kill us if they could.
For centuries, the Middle East & North Africa were ruled by the Ottoman Empire (modern day Turkey). At the end of World War One the empire was broken up into pieces and parceled out, controlled/manipulated by the winners; Great Britain, France & the U.S.A. The new tribal regions were united by religion (Islam) but new to the business of worldwide politics. For the western powers it was easy, propping up puppet governments, keeping muslim brothers at odds with each other while the riches of the region were siphoned off to the West.
Leapfrog ahead to 2001: muslim sects and political action groups had organized across national boundaries, exercising power wherever they took root. They were like birds, little, migratory flocks without boundaries. Is it a surprise that they had grown to hate the West? Their attack on New York had a lot in common with the Boston Tea Party/Bunker Hill. They were following our old play book except they brought it to us in our homeland.
I have no particular sympathy for Islam as a religion or a culture. Religion serves the greater good until it strays into politics. Then it’s just another special interest group, superimposing itself on whatever is in the way, whatever it takes. When people feel powerless and feel they must act in their own defense, terrorism may be the only option. Then they copy from the American revolutionaries, hiding behind trees and targeting officers. British authorities called them cowards and terrorists. If you are going to play war, you must stand up and fight fair. Hiding and killing officers was cowardly and immoral. It hasn’t changed. An AK-47 is no match for laser guided missiles. So they hide behind noncombatants, use crude, roadside bombs with devastating effects. For that we call them cowards and cheaters. Terrorism is as old as conflict itself and the morality of that strategy depends on which side you are on.
I resist partisan hyperbole. Sometimes we take the high road, other times we don’t. Holding ourselves accountable by the same scale we measure others is not subversive. To that extent, I don’t feel like I’ve betrayed anyone. Stephen Decatur is remembered for his patriotic fervor when he spoke, “My country, right or wrong, my country.” I take that to mean, any wrong-doing or moral failure can be sanctified if we link it to a patriotic purpose. We have a president now who uses that strategy at every turn in the road and I take no comfort there. If he wins, he gets to write his own history, glorify his own brand of self righteous hypocrisy.
Yesterday was 9/11 and I missed it, didn’t make the connection until this morning. I was busy with Covid-19, a sputtering, failing economy and wild fires in the west. It is peak hurricane season as well and storm names are up to ’Sally’ and ’Teddy’ in the alphabet. I don’t need a reminded for 9/11. My love of country is sufficient, it has legs of its own, doesn’t need to be wrapped in the flag or carry a cross.
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