9/11 - Looking Back on What I Felt Needed to Be Said Five Years Ago

I seek not to add to the sensationalism that I feel some of the media is using to exploit the events that happened five years ago, but I dug up an email that I sent to many friends and coworkers a few days after the terrorist attacks in 2001.  I had lost my sense of faith in humanity just as many others did, especially those that lost loved ones.  Their grief is something I don't want to downplay, but for me personally, I felt a bit paranoid for my own safety.  More importantly though, I felt as though many Americans were suddenly looked upon in completely different way by others, just because of our ethnicity or appearance.  It made me want to speak out to on the behalf of these individuals.  What I wrote still applies today and can be projected onto the global scale.  Remember that this was written well before our military chose to invade Iraq.  Here is the note...

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From: ______
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 11:29 AM
Subject: Don't stoop to the level of the terrorists

*****
I am sending this message to people I know so that they can spread the word
to others to make people think before carrying out irrational acts or treating
others with unfounded feelings of hatred.
*****

First of all, I want to express sorrow for the victims of Tuesday's events.  I am still in a state of shock and wish I could do more to help those in need.  I'm sure all of us would have liked for this whole tragedy to have been avoided.  One thing we can all do is to help prevent further tragedies from happening.  In the last week, there have been numerous incidents of Americans verbally and physically attacking other Americans of Middle-Eastern and Asian descent.

One Sikh gentleman was killed, places of worship have been bombed.  This is very disconcerting and it needs to stop because it is simply wrong.  It is, in essence terrorism upon our own people by our own people!

Just because somebody looks like a Muslim (as the terrorists apparently were) doesn't mean she/he is one.  But more importantly, just because a person is Muslim does not mean she/he shares in any of the sentiment and ill-will that the terrorists had towards the United States.  The Muslims that we interact with daily are our neighbors, friends, and co-workers.  They are not our enemies just  because they share a common cultural background with some extremely radical, evil people.   Remember that Jeffrey Daumer and Hitler were individuals who happened to be raised Christian and did horrible things.  Does this make it right for others to seek vengeance on any Christian just for sharing a common background?  Of course not.  Don't stoop to the terrorist level of inhumanity.  This is a time to stick together and support each other.  We are all hurting.  We do not need to add to the pain.

+ Atul

Comments

[Dave P]

Atul
I remember receiving that email from you. Raw with emotion, I scoffed at it a bit. However, over time your not reactionary but well-thought-out words have proven to be very wise. I had a class assignment yesterday regarding how philosophy and religion are the foundation of our ethical beliefs. It gave me an opportunity to express thoughts about 9/11 and the 5 years since. Some of what I wrote is similar to what you have presented here.

[Atul]

Thanks for the comment again Dave. It would be neat to read your paper. There was actually a special on PBS which talked about how 9/11 changed people's faith.

[chancelucky]

One of the most disturbing developments over the last few months has been the meme about "Islamo-Fascists" and the widening rhetoric about Islam being a religion of violence (the Christians have a history of being pretty good at violence themselves).

Right after 9/11 the President actually seemed to take some care to make the distinction. I'm deeply saddened that because he thinks it's to his political advantage, he's letting his surrogates stoke the whole "They're not like us" thing once again.

[Jack Yan]

Amazing post, Atul—thank you for sharing. We need these reminders occasionally and the anniversaries of 9-11 are very suitable times for us to consider our values.

[Atul]

Chancelucky,

Yes, I believe the whole game that the Republicans play is to use divisiveness and scare tactics to get people to vote for them.

Jack,

Glad you liked the letter. I'm glad I saved it. What's funny is that I sent it from my work email and my director had been told by his boss to ask me if everything was OK and they also told me not to use work email for such messages.

- Atul