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My thoughts on 9/11
There's a picture going around of woman displaying a photo with accompaning text reading "Today is ONLY about my sister and the other innocents killed nine years ago."
The problem is, she's wrong.
9/11 was the result of an incredibly complex web of influences and sources dating back to the birth of the Wahhabi sect in the 18th century, Western actions in the region, US support of the Mujaheddin against the Soviets, the establishment of US bases in Saudi Arabia after Desert Storm, and many, amny other things.
9/11 is the result of two centuries of religious thinking, political maneuvering, wars, and cynical actions by governments and leaders around the globe. To reduce it only to the fall of the towers and the resulting deaths is to deny the reality of history.
Studying history isn't just about knowing what happened, but striving to understand why it happened. Mourn those lost. I'm remembering a couple of friends and one man who I'm sure I would have gotten along with like a house on fire (from what I understand, it's likely that Liam and I getting together might well have resulted in that) but I'm not going to reduce the event to a soundbite.
That cheats the dead. They did, in fact, die for a reason. A lousy one, but if we want to understand that reason, we need to learn.
The problem is, she's wrong.
9/11 was the result of an incredibly complex web of influences and sources dating back to the birth of the Wahhabi sect in the 18th century, Western actions in the region, US support of the Mujaheddin against the Soviets, the establishment of US bases in Saudi Arabia after Desert Storm, and many, amny other things.
9/11 is the result of two centuries of religious thinking, political maneuvering, wars, and cynical actions by governments and leaders around the globe. To reduce it only to the fall of the towers and the resulting deaths is to deny the reality of history.
Studying history isn't just about knowing what happened, but striving to understand why it happened. Mourn those lost. I'm remembering a couple of friends and one man who I'm sure I would have gotten along with like a house on fire (from what I understand, it's likely that Liam and I getting together might well have resulted in that) but I'm not going to reduce the event to a soundbite.
That cheats the dead. They did, in fact, die for a reason. A lousy one, but if we want to understand that reason, we need to learn.
My take