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SEPTEMBER 11TH 2001: REMEMBRANCE, PERCEPTIONS &
HOPE |
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There are very few moments in history when we would say that our perception of the world was really changed, and that the world could never be the same again. In recent times, for example, we could think of the Holocaust, the end of the Second World War, the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Twelve months ago it was said that the events of September 11th would rank alongside these and I must admit that I was sceptical. Now I think those events have changed our perceptions of the world in a very real and indelible way. The world has been changed and we cannot reverse time and return to how things were before. No longer can we trust that we are safe when we board a plane. No longer can we trust that we can go to work and be safe from terrorist attacks. No longer can we trust that when we wave goodbye to our loved ones in the morning that, apart from an "act of God" (as the insurance companies put it!), we will never see them again in this world. In so many ways, no longer can we "trust" at all. Do we know who the person next to us is? Do they intend us harm? Our personal space has been violated in a barbaric way, and we in the west are now living with the fear of the immediate threat of violence in a way which, for years, has been second nature to many living in eastern countries. REMEMBRANCE September 11th last year really began, for me, with a phone message from my daughter to turn on the television… any channel. When I did, my first reaction was that I was watching a very low-budget action film with extremely poor special-effects. It only dawned on me slowly that I was watching real events, as the plane ploughed into the first tower of the World Trade Centre. For the next few hours I just sat and watched the events over and over again, in some strange way expecting that eventually there would be a different conclusion, the planes would veer away and there would be a happy ending. Of course it never came, and for some the horror of that ending is still affecting their ongoing lives because they were injured, had relatives who were killed or injured or have been caught up in military actions following the terrorist attacks. PERCEPTIONS In the 1950's the theologian Teilhard de Chardin argued that human beings were evolving upwards both morally and spiritually and, in the aftermath of World War II, that probably seemed to be the case, but I would question whether he would write in the same vein today. The world is a much smaller place now. We are very much dependent on one another in ways which would have been impossible in the past. This has its joys and its benefits, but also its dangers, as we have been lulled into a false sense of security.
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I think we have become anaesthetised to the horror of war and bloodshed, and the shock which emanated from the September 11th events was due to the following facts: we were watching it live, so many died in such a concentrated period of time, and it was on American soil. Perhaps this will now wake us up to the fact that horrific events have been going on in Zimbabwe, the Middle East and many other parts of the world on a similar, if not greater, scale… but spread over a longer period. And the feelings I had when I saw the events in New York were the same feelings I have when I see the results of suicide bombings in Israel, or the killing of Palestinians in the West Bank. Feelings of revulsion, sadness and disbelief that human beings can behave in this way towards one another. And the questions I ask, and I hope and pray that any person of faith will honestly ask, are "Why does God allow these things to happen?" and "Where is God in all this chaos and confusion?" I believe our God is a God who, like any parent, allows his children, as they grow older, to have their independence, and to exercise free will even if they exercise it irresponsibly. So where is God? I believe he is weeping alongside those who weep, and speaking clearly through those working for peace and harmony in our divided and suffering world. His voice was heard in the voices of outrage and condemnation, spoken by so many people of many different faiths and nations in the aftermath of the events. Lives lost in the twin towers included a wide spectrum of our world's population. HOPE My hope for the future is that all civilised peoples would see the need to work together to make sure there is never another event like September 11th. That means not just trying to punish those who perpetrated this terrorism, but also trying to deal honestly and openly with the underlying problems which lead to this kind of attack taking place. We need to talk together, work together, pray together and respect one another. We also need to show one another the kind of love Jesus talked about. When he said that we should love one another, he used the Greek word "Agape", a difficult word to translate into English. It means love for the unlovable, wanting the best for others, even if you don't necessarily see eye to eye with them. Not a soft, sentimental love, but a hard love which is honest about differences, faces confrontations openly and looks for ways in which reconciliation can become a reality. If we had mutual "agape" love for one another the world would certainly be a better place and events such as those which took place last September 11th would become a thing of the past. That is my hope and that is my prayer.
Revd. Kevin Ashby, September 2002 |