Reflections on 9-11
Last Thursday I was asked if I would share something in chapel, Friday about 9-11 since the plans for the day fell through. That night I pulled out what I had written ten years ago when I was asked to share and added some thoughts. This is what I shared, more or less.
Ten years ago, on a Tuesday morning the teachers gathered in my room for an in-service dealing with child abuse. When I was getting a cup of coffee, another teacher asked if I had heard about a plane crashing into one of the World Trade Towers. I hadn’t but when we got to my room, we turned on the television. Instead of watching the video for our in-service we spent most of the morning watching the building burn, the second jet crash into the other tower, and then both buildings collapse.
No one knew what was happening or why. There were reports that other jets had been hijacked and were headed towards Washington DC, Chicago or other cities. All planes were told to land immediately, planes arriving from overseas landed instead in Canada, Mexico, or they risked being shot down by the US military.
The next question was, what do we do with the students when they arrive? It was decided to meet in the chapel, now the library and to tell students what had happened, read some scripture and have a prayer. Some came already knowing, while others knew nothing. For some the primary concern was, would the soccer game go on as scheduled. The game was canceled to the dismay of some of my players who were looking forward to the long bus ride to Ft Madison.
I’m not sure what happened in other classrooms, but in mine, we spent much of the time watching the television coverage. I did not have a computer in my room so watching things over the internet was not an option. Students wanted to know why someone would attack the U.S., and some quickly realized that our country and their lives would be changing. Someone got the bright idea that I should talk about what happened in chapel so I spent the weekend reading news articles and thinking about what to say.
In my talk, I tried to answer four questions a lot of students were asking. They were:
Question #1 Why do so many people and countries hate us (the United States) and want to harm us?
Question #2 Where do we find safety and security?
Question #3 How should Christians, especially those of us who claim nonresistance, respond to the attack?
Question/ Thought #4 What is our place as Christians in American society?
Looking back at what I wrote I think my answers made sense, but I think it is still important for us to think about these questions. What I wrote ten years ago is in italics since I couldn't figure out how to do it in a different font. Or you can read the previous post if you are so inclined.
Question 1 –Why would people want to attack the US?
We are the biggest most powerful country in the world. Our country has done some great and wonderful things, but at times our country has acted arrogantly and selfishly. In the last ten years I have had the privilege of traveling to China, Israel/Palestine, and Poland. In every country I was told the same thing, “We love Americans, but we don’t care so much for your government.” Can I distinguish between individuals and the actions of their governments?
Question 2. Where will we find our safety and security?
I wrote, Will it be in adding millions to the budgets of the FBI, CIA and the military? Will it be as the article titled“ Shaken Americans take comfort in guns.” Where a gun dealer is quoted, “People in Peoria don’t have to go out and buy a handgun to protect themselves from a stolen 747, but people are afraid and they go out and look for something that will make them feel better. Or will we choose to remember the Psalm, “God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So will we not be afraid even if the earth is shaken and mountains fall into the ocean depths. Even if the seas roar and rage and the hills are shaken be the violence.” Psalm 46 Can we say with David? “Some trust in their war chariots and others in their horses, but we trust in the power of the Lord our God” Psalm 20:7 Today will we put our trust in guns, missile defense systems, new security measures, or can we rest secure in the arms of God?
According to some estimates, since 2011 our country has spent at least 7.6 trillion on “security” costs. Because of secrecy and the nature of some of the anti-terrorist work, according to a recent Frontline report we may never know how much has been spent.
Since 2000 “...the Pentagon’s annual “Base” budget (not including war costs or the nuclear weapons activities of the Department of Energy) from FY 2000 to FY 2011 has risen 235.6 Billion.”
http://costofwar.com/en/publications/2011/ten-years-after-911/top-ten-security-spending-numbers-you-need-know/
These numbers provide evidence of the choice made by our government. To use the words of David in Psalm 20, we put our trust in war chariots and horses, rather than in the power of the Lord our God.
Some of you were likely annoyed by my last comment, which brings us to the third question I asked.
Question #3 How should Christians, especially those of us who claim nonresistance, respond to the attack?
In response to 911 many Christians pledged their support to President Bush. A prayer service was held at the National Cathedral where prayers were offered for the victims, for our leaders and for God’s guidance. It wasn’t long before President Bush talked of a crusade to rid the world of bin Laden and his evil followers
Calvin Thomas, a professed born-again Christian in an article titled, “If this terrorism act is war, then lets start acting like it,” wrote: “Evil exists. It must be opposed. It is self-defense to kill people intent on killing you. If this is war…lets start acting like it and tell America’s enemies that if they are so intent on seeing their God, we’ll help them get there. As for us, we intend to die of natural causes.”…“Those humanistic, ‘can’t we all get along, profiling potential terrorists is racism, we’re all God’s children, kumbaya, all we are saying is give peace a chance’ moral equivalency equivocators will soon be back. …. They should be ignored. …. We know the enemy. We know where they live. Let’s go get them before they get any more of us, and let the moralizers sort it all out later.”
We have had to sort it out, whether or not we were “moralizers”
2,977 people died during the attacks against the United States on 9-11. Since going to war there have been 6,026 U.S. fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Civilian casualties are more difficult to come by. Remember Rumsfeld’s line, “We don’t do body counts.” Conservative estimates suggest a minimum of 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died while others suggest it is over 900,000. In Afghanistan nearly 20,000 civilians have been killed.
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/ see also http://www.unknownnews.org/casualties.html
Our country has had to debate whether “enhanced interrogation techniques” are torture. We cringe at the name “Abu Ghraib” and the images it brings to mind. It is easy to find stories about the struggles faced by returning veterans and the demons they face as they deal with their combat experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I remember the words of Jesus, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Or the words of Paul in Romans 12, and I wonder, am I one of Cal Thomas’s “We’re all God’s children, kumbayah, moral equivocators? Am I being naïve if I reject Thomas’s call to violence and revenge?
Now ten years later I wonder if we are naive if we assume we can engage in war, violence and torture without consequences.
Question/ Thought #4 What is our place as Christians in American society?
In the aftermath of 9-11, 93% of Americans supported taking military action and 77% supported military action even if it meant innocent civilians would be killed. 71 % said they would be willing to give up some personal liberties and privacy. Flags were sold by the millions, newspapers and magazines printed paper versions so everyone could put them in the window of their house or display them in their car.
“As patriotism is mixed with prayer,” as our nation gets ready for war, is their room for the 7% of us who oppose using a military response?
As a “people of peace” in a country preparing for war, how are we to act? Especially if it becomes a war without borders fought in a variety of ways. Will we choose to place flags supplied by our local newspapers in the windows of our cars and homes? Will we keep our voices low and our opinions silent to avoid detection and perhaps persecution?
Am I willing to be treated as an alien in my own land?
We are faced with a choice, Will we choose to join our country as it draws its sword, beginning its “crusade to wipe out the people who would strike at our freedoms….” Or will we choose instead to believe and follow Jesus the Prince of Peace.
Methodist Bishop Will Willimon recently said in the evangelical magazine Christianity Today: “American Christians may look back upon our response to 9/11 as our greatest Christological defeat … when our people felt vulnerable, they reached for the flag instead of the cross.”
http://blog.sojo.net/2011/09/08/10-years-after-911-the-good-and-the-bad/
The last ten years have not always been easy ones. Some families decided not to have their children return to IMS, fans of visiting teams were sometimes vocal about the absence of a flag and the national anthem, the state athletic associations punished our sports teams. During this time some relationships were broken, yet others were developed and maintained.
In the end, if we are to be faithful we have a choice to make. Ten years ago I asked,
Will we choose to join our country as it draws its sword, beginning its “crusade
to wipe out the people who would strike at our freedoms….” Or will we choose instead to believe and follow Jesus the Prince of Peace?
Today, ten years later I am going to tell you my answer to that question. If we are to be the people of God, we need to choose to believe and follow Jesus, the Prince of Peace. In the words of the Methodist bishop, we need to reach for the cross instead of the flag. We need to follow Jesus in spite of the costs if we are to be a people of faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment