The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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September 7, 2010

Our View: Let’s observe 9/11 respectfully

The Free Press

Nine years after 9/11 and America is still debating not only the lessons to be learned from the attacks but also how the date should be observed.

As for the lessons: Who are we fighting? How widespread is the terrorist network, really, and how many moderate Muslims do we have to work with in order to bring about the tolerance we so desperately seek? Was the war in Iraq just? The war in Afghanistan? When and how do we know if we’ve succeeded?

These kinds of questions never seemed to be a problem after Pearl Harbor. But that was nearly 70 years ago and it was a different time — the nature of our country was different, and our enemy was easier to identify.

As for how 9/11 should be observed in 2010: As recently as last week the White House pondered how best to remember. Doubt was expressed as to whether President Barack Obama should travel to New York, the site of the collapse of the World Trade Center. He finally settled on attending a Pentagon memorial service.

Recent controversies surrounding a project to build a mosque near the site of Ground Zero only complicate matters. A rally by an anti-mosque group has been planned to take place there on Saturday, predictably balanced by a pro-mosque group. Relatives of 9/11 victims have asked that the day be set aside not for protests, but for thoughtful and respectful observances, instead.

We strongly agree with the relatives. Odd, it is, that an event that ought to unite the entire country causes such consternation nine years later.

There is at least one 9/11-related act that we avidly condemn — the announcement by a Florida pastor that he will publicly burn the Quran on Saturday. But there are other remembrances we can all appreciate. On Aug. 27, crews began planting 16 swamp white oaks at the World Trade Center site — the first of nearly 400 trees to be planted around the 8-acre memorial. Elsewhere, a group of motorcyclists from Newark, N.J., is tracing the intended path of Flight 93 had it not been hijacked by terrorists. In other cities and towns around the country on Saturday, there will be candlelight vigils, prayer services, tender tributes, flag wavings and freedom walks.

The more, the better. We should recall that prior generations vowed to remember Pearl Harbor and The Holocaust, promising two things: never again, and that proper responses be put in place so that their lives may not have been entirely in vain. It should be similar with 9/11.

To ensure that such a tragedy might never again happen on American soil, we must understand the nature of the enemy while renewing our determination to protect ourselves.

As we remember 9/11, we must continue to discuss as a nation the aftermath. There are still questions to come back to and counter-terrorism measures to shore up. The push and pull between the rights of privacy and the requirements for preventative security is still causing divisions. And not just within our borders; the U.S. even now hears talk from the European Union that it will not disclose vital information about threats until we conform our privacy standards to their own.

Nine years later, we are still waging battles to win protection for our citizens.

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