The Day We Learned to Fear

Until September 11 five years ago, we thought this country was invincible. But in a few hours that morning, we learned that just a few individuals working together could wreak havoc and create unimaginable destruction. This was the day when a new level of fear was born – a fear of airplanes, a fear of cropdusters, and a fear of young men from the Middle East. Just close your eyes – you can easily picture the one on the plane that might blow it up. See how well we’ve all learned our lesson in fear?

I feel sorry for the one out of every 365 people in this country whose birthday is September 11. Instead of a day of joyous celebration, it will forever be the day that eclipsed Pearl Harbor as a trigger of sadness and bad memories – memories of people falling out of burning skyscrapers, memories of those same skyscrapers collapsing into themselves, memories of brave police and firefighters that went into to save the people and never came out.

But this was just the beginning. Since September 11, we have learned to be afraid of rental trucks, shoes, bottles of baby formula, Swiss Army knives, knitting needles, white powder, and any number of other things. New objects to fear are invented daily. Traveling has become an unbelievable ordeal as we struggle to check off and check out all the things we have been programmed to fear.

Our buildings have even learned to be afraid as we began a never-ending program to make them all fortresses. The Capitol grounds now have little posts everywhere so no crazed terrorist can drive in. There are barriers and new high sidewalks being continuously erected around every national monument in the city.

Many elections have been won on a platform of security from the threat of terrorism. So many people are willing to cast their hat with the one who paints the most striking picture of doom and gloom and promises protection to believing citizens (and recommends that all the would-be terrorist non-citizens be deported).

Once we got beyond the initial carnage and destruction wrought by that small band and the debris had all been cleared away, we still had a legacy of that day in the fear that was birthed. It will be with us forever as a reminder.