Reflecting on 9/11, Reevaluating US Foreign Policy
Remembering 9/11: Lessons Learned and Reflections
Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. So much has been written about this horrific day it is difficult to reflect upon it without merely repeating what others have already said. But sometimes repetition is necessary.
As the chasm of time between that morning and today grows inexorably wider, we run a very real risk of falling into a somnambulant sense of security. But if 9/11 taught us one thing, it is that events so significant as to send a hyper-power spinning off its axis tend to occur on the most ordinary of days.
I used to work on the 55th floor of Two World Trade Center. I can still recall the magnificent views of all Manhattan below us, while Tower One, like a twin sentinel, seemed so close you could reach out and touch it. You really felt like you were working in the epicenter of the world’s economic engine up there. And, in a way, you were. I was fortunate, as it turned out, to accept a job across the Hudson in Jersey City before the attacks. And so, my colleagues and I watched from the high floor of a skyscraper on the west bank of the Hudson as the second aircraft, a UAL 767, hurling at eye-level with the throttle wide open, slammed into the second tower.
We soon evacuated our own building and made our way outside to the pier along the river and watched as the hell unfolded. The surreal moment was made all the more so by the clear azure sky that belied the sinister events unfolding beneath it. When the buildings came down, and those on the dock shrieked, cried, and gasped a collective “No!”, a co-worker said quietly, “My brothers are up there.” They both died. Our former house attorney who’d just a few months before excitedly accepted a job at Cantor-Fitzgerald, and had been trapped at the top of Tower One, was also dead. As were eight people from my small commuter town.
We feared for the life of my brother-in-law, a New York firefighter, but fortunately he was spared — 348 of his fellow FDNY brothers were not. One can only imagine the PTSD he endured as he donned his dress blues to attend funeral after funeral. These surviving firefighters should be considered war veterans.
My memories are fading now, and that is a healthy thing. One cannot dwell on terrible events. But at the same time, a nation can, and should, learn from them. And I think 9/11 should prompt us to reflect on some things about our country. Some are sublime, others not so much.
Lessons Learned
- Never underestimate the capacity of the American spirit to overcome daunting situations and engage in acts of self-sacrifice for the greater good.
- Reflect on the consequences of our national leaders’ self-delusion and the need for a more nuanced understanding of global issues.
- Recognize the importance of energy independence to reduce vulnerability and the need for military presence in volatile regions.
- Acknowledge that while many in the world may harbor resentment or envy towards the United States, it is crucial to address their concerns and listen to their perspectives.
- Exercise our power responsibly and be mindful of the unintended consequences of our actions.
If this in any way sounds like a justification for the events that occurred 22 years ago, then you completely miss the point. Because what ultimately matters is do others justify it? And if so, then how do we make them no longer see the US in such a light? Given the fact that we are at it again, spending billions to prop up a losing campaign in a far off land against an old foe (one with a lot of nukes), I wonder if this less appealing moral of 9/11 will ever be absorbed. If not, then we are in for more down the road. Remember, no one who woke up that peaceful morning and breathed the clear, crisp late summer air could have imagined how the world would have changed by sundown. It happens that fast.
The United States has both the blessing and curse of historically unprecedented power. It must therefore be used wisely, deployed sparingly, and with the understanding that actions will have consequences if we are not careful. Even if those consequences are cowardly acts of mass murder, so long as cowardly mass murderers exist, so too does the danger.
Fortunately, we have a counterweight here to the fools who are running this nation into the ground. That is called the spirit of the everyday American. A spirit we watched in real-time through countless acts of heroism and self-sacrifice on that otherwise terrible morning. We saw it in passengers taking down their own plane to save the lives of others. We saw it in New York firefighters making their way up the smoke-clogged stairwells into danger and what many knew would be their last mission, while injured and bewildered citizens were headed down the other way to safety. We saw it in how Americans, Left and Right, set aside their differences to join hands and express to the world with one voice: We Are Americans. We are a nation of good people.
Yet we still have the capacity, when pushed, to respond to such brazen affronts with a single-minded fury that Yamamoto understood sixty years earlier, while orchestrating another surprise attack on our nation. We are still a “sleeping giant,” not to be trifled with. Indeed, once we get rolling the only enemy who can defeat us is ourselves. And that, perhaps, is a lesson for the rest of the world to ponder.
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader, columnist, and author. His newest book LIFE IN THE PITS: My Time As A Trader On The Rough-And-Tumble Exchange Floors comes out in December.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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