Editor’s Note: Villages resident Marsha Shearer recently wrote this piece reflecting on the Sept. 11 anniversary.
That day stands alone in its horror for so many reasons. The number of people killed, the near destruction of so much of what we assumed was sacrosanct, the sense of vulnerability we all felt as a result of that attack. But in my view, the worst impact of that day was the long term effect on our country and each other.
In our effort to regain a sense of control and equilibrium and to ‘do something’ (read ‘anything’) to respond, we started two senseless wars. Instead of targeting Al Qaeda, our government attacked the countries and the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Americans were deceived and lied to. Thousands of our brave military were killed and maimed – their families forever impacted. And we killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in both countries who had nothing to do with 9/11. Because we were lied to, we no longer trust the people we elect. We continue to demonize Muslims as an entire religion and Arabs as a culture. Thanks to 9/11, we see the enemy everywhere. A new and highly profitable industry has arisen to capitalize and further promote fear and distrust and hate. Best sellers by Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, et.al, under the ironic heading of ‘non-fiction,’ feed the fear they’ve promoted. Our default position is distrust. We are self-absorbed and self-centered. We have become a nation of ‘ME’ vs. ‘WE’. So much of America sees nothing wrong in cutting food stamps for the poor while giving tax breaks and subsidies to the rich. And like the protest song of the 60’s, ‘hate your neighbor but don’t forget to say Grace’…or to volunteer at the local food bank whose beneficiaries we helped create. We practice what we preach and it isn’t ‘do unto others’ or ‘love your neighbor.’ All we need do is refer to writers on certain editorial pages, listen to right wing talk radio and certain politicians who blame others (as long as they don’t look like us) as they promote fear and paranoia.
Al Qaeda didn’t win. But we did lose and we managed to do that all by ourselves…to ourselves. But this can change…if we will it to and if we work at it. Working together for the common good, respecting differences, and modeling civility and cooperation can make a world of difference. The recipe is simple. Just “do unto others…” Not some others. All others.
