I wrote two posts on 9/11 last year: God and 9/11 and God and 9/11, Part 2. They're still worth reading, but today I want to add some additional reflections.
I wasn't as shaken by 9/11 as I perhaps should have been. To me, it was like other disasters that I saw on the news: I guess I should feel bad about hurricanes and bombings and wars and crimes, but I can't really do much about them, so I don't worry too much. A lot of people are hardened to the reality of evil in the world. Maybe it would be different if I knew the people who died.
But I could sense on September 11, 2001 that the people around me were treating this disaster differently. I was registering at Harvard when it happened, and I saw this one woman crying as she watched the news. I didn't know what was going on. And the whole atmosphere around me was tense and serious. I finally had to ask a clerk in an office, "What is going on?"
To be honest, I was a little scared of the national unity that emerged right after the disaster. I don't entirely know why. It just seemed like a spooky group-think pervaded the atmosphere, and people were eager to follow President Bush, no matter what. Not long after the event, I read an interview in which a reporter asked Bush about the impact of new legislation on civil rights, and Bush seemed baffled that he even asked the question.
I'm happy that we've reached a point where mentioning "9/11" doesn't stifle debate and political criticism. For a while, Republicans were using "9/11" the same way that liberals use racism, sexism, and homophoba: to stifle debate. "But when did a Republican ever question a Democrat's patriotism?," one may ask. Well, that one law is called "the Patriot Act," is it not? Does that mean those who question it are unpatriotic?
Overall, however, I agree with President Bush's policies to counter terrorism. Like the vast majority of Americans, I want my country to be safe. And I have a problem treating civil rights as an absolute that cannot be infringed. In my opinion, if we can listen in to the conversations of terrorists, then we should do so. It's irresponsible not to! And Bush's policy on wiretaps has thwarted additional attacks.
I also disagree with the obsession of Bush's critics over Osama bin Laden. Sure, he should be found and brought to justice, but Bush's critics acted like 9/11 was solely a matter of a single personality. Terror is a network! It's not just one person. That's why I don't like the mantra of "Why did we attack Iraq, when the problem was in Afghanistan?"
I think Bush deserves credit for preventing another terrorist attack. At the same time, I don't want any policy to be beyond the realm of scrutiny. So I'm glad that people are willing to question President Bush at this point in time, and yet I agree with his anti-terror policies.