The world changed on September 11, 2001. Twenty years ago, tomorrow. Twenty years since so many of us were horrified by that fateful Tuesday. Twenty years since so many of us couldn’t look away from the aftermath in the days and weeks after. Twenty years since the towers came down, since the west side of the Pentagon collapsed, and since that field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, was alight with burning jet fuel.
The world changed that day, and the course of human history changed with it. Those of us old enough to remember can’t help but be reminded every time we pass through TSA at the airport, or every time we see the Manhattan skyline with those missing towers. Even recent news regarding Afghanistan is a reminder that there are more dominoes yet to fall in 9/11’s aftermath.
For all that was evil that day, let us also remember what was good: the many heroic first responders who descended on those burning buildings and not away. The volunteers rushing to donate blood and offer aid. The incredible 9/11 boatlift when civilians ferried half a million people from Manhattan that day. And, of course, our political leaders, who are normally fierce opponents, singing God Bless American on the steps of the Capitol Building.
Most important of all, however, we remember the fact that 2,977 victims lost their lives. Countless more, including those heroic first responders, have since endured cancer and other ailments due to their exposure to the toxins at ground zero. A further 2,448 American servicemen and women died in Afghanistan, along with 3,846 U.S. contractors. And so many, many more when you factor in the allies and civilians there. The total cost is incalculable.
But what is the value of a human life? Not the cynical dollar amount that insurance companies negotiate, but the intrinsic and inalienable value that all people are so endowed? This a topic that has been debated for millennia by philosophers and theologians alike, and it’s not one we can answer here. As so many of us mark the anniversary of that awful day, mourning the lives lost but also cherishing the great acts of self-sacrifice and charity in what came after, perhaps there’s an answer to that question somewhere between the tragedy and the triumph.
September 11th showed us both the worst and the best of humanity, reminding us that evil only wins when good surrenders—for there are far more good people than evil, and the bonds that unite the best of us are far stronger than what unites the worst.
Never forget.
