I well remember the shared sense of unity after 9/11, and lamented its loss when the Bush/Cheney administration cynically exploited it to invade Iraq.
Sadly, we had a similar chance to come together during the pandemic. But it was squandered as well, this time by the sheer incompetence of Donald Trump.
I recall tomorrow morning 22 years ago - the phone rang at 0545 and woke me from a very sound sleep to hear a friend in New York yell "We're at war!" To which I replied "Steven, have you been drinking?" He replied "We're at war! Go turn on your TV!" and hung up, as he said later a bit disgusted with my fog-headedness.
So I stumbled down the hallway from the bedroom to the living room and turned on the TV. Just in time to see the second plane hit the tower. I had two thoughts: finally America wasn't going to get to be fat dumb and happy anymore, and that unfortunately I didn't think we'd face up to it as well as all the people I write about faced up to Pearl Harbor.
Unfortunately, Americans don't like getting slapped in the face by Reality, and it was obvious within six months that we weren't living up to our forbears. And we mostly haven't still. I went though more shit for opposing Widdle Georgie's invasion of Poland, er, I mean Iraq, than I ever did for opposing my war in Vietnam. And striking out as the petulant pre-adolescent we are as a country with our plan to "remake the Middle East" was as idiotic as our efforts in Vietnam, only moreso, because this time actual morons were in charge, rather than the mere idiots of 60 years earlier.
Instructive about 9/11. I had no idea that people on the West Coast did not realize the enormity of the 9/11 attack. We returned from London when we could and were affected seeing the smoking remains of the Towers poking into the night sky as we drove to our apartment in NYC.
I admit to being a "contrarian" on 9/11. The first thing that occurred to me was that this was the kind of havoc the US has long been embroiled in wreaking on innocent civilians in other countries. The attack on the Twin Towers was decades of imperialism coming home to roost. Of course, it was a horrible tragedy for those killed and injured by the attack and for their families and loved ones; I had and have nothing but sympathy for them. BUT the emotionalism of the response that day seemed to me to reflect hubris and ignorance, assuming that the US was an innocent victim. It was not. It also reflected the fact that the US has been singularly immune from the effects of war and destruction on its own territory. As for the response by the cynical and evil Bush administration, particularly Cheney and not forgetting Powell (and the even more cynical and evil Tony Blair) the world is still living with its consequences, most particularly the successful spread of terrorism throughout the ME and Africa.
Most of us reading Today’s Edition remember 9/11 and have a mental picture of that day and the weeks to follow but for a large portion of todays population they were not alive before that horrendous event. It changed the world and everything in it. One amazing thing happened and that was regardless of party affiliation the entire county came together as one unified and together and American nationalism was clearly on display as American flags and songs filled the air. The threat that was evident on that day to our country and democracy unfortunately has not gone away and it has morphed into another kind of threat to our country.
Joyce Vance wrote the following today. “ We are in a pivotal moment in this country. It comes at a time when Trump fatigue is high. And yet, it has never been more important to keep events in focus. Democracy truly could die in darkness. We must continue to shine light and find ways to share details. Facts have a way of rippling quietly across the surface and finding a home. Although the popular mythology says Trump supporters are lost, again and again I hear stories—we have some among our own friends and family—of people who began to rethink because a kernel of truth got through to them. That’s what we need at this point, not agreement on everything, just a commitment to the ongoing American experiment.”
A beautifully appropriate message in memory of the sad events of 9/11. As important as the preservation of democracy is to our future though, the preservation and clarity of the rule of law and equality thereunder are equally essential if not more so. There are notional democracies all over the world where people go through the motions and the dictators they "elect" proceed to run rampant over their ability to live their lives as they choose. If we are to preserve the freedoms we have and take too much for granted, punishing those who would take them away is every bit as important as getting out to vote. The judicial system is working its way slowly to that end and we must make it abundantly clear that we support the prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and juries who will ensure that justice is done, publicly and without taint. Anyone who does less than that is as much a danger to our system of governance as the insurrectionists who failed on Jan. 6 or the terrorists who failed equally on 9/11.
I was up early for work, watching morning news when they reported a plane had hit the WTC. Disturbing but was it just a small plane? Then the horror is still fresh remembering watching the 2nd plane slam into the 2nd tower. I knew instantly that the US was at war. Stunned days of watching the coverage followed. I remember the silence of the empty skies and trepidation when planes were allowed to again fly. I remember a memorial service for a local man on UA flight 93 who helped storm the cockpit. Today I remember all these horrors, and send my thoughts out to all who lost beloved family, friends, coworkers, citizens, that terrible day.
I sat on my sofa with my hands over my mouth, eyes wide, on the morning of 9/11. I sat on my sofa, with one hand over my mouth, watching Trump, whispering “Oh my God, he’s not going to leave!” Our Indivisible group, created with friends from our community, was created in the following weeks and is hard at it. Thank you for another injection of energy. On we go.
On 9/11/01 my husband was out of work on strike at our local steel mill. He was home and had cable news on. I didn't have to be at work until 10 am. My sister called me in a panic after the North Tower was hit, as our parents were scheduled to fly out to Africa that day. As I reassured her that their flight was not until 1 pm that day, the South Tower was hit and I said to her "My God, Lauren, this was not an accident".
In the days following, my brother in law in New Jersey went to ground zero to volunteer for the bucket brigade, joining with others in passing 5-gallon buckets full of debris down a line to investigators, who sifted through the debris in search of evidence and human remains.
The 9/11 Memorial has 3 detailed, interactive outlines of events here online. One is the 9/11 attack timeline, one is the ground zero recovery timeline and one is of the 1993 WTC bombing.
Thanks for your personal recollections of 9/11. I lived and worked about 50 miles from the twin towers and my wife had just begun a Masters degree program at Rutgers, about 20 miles closer. My own actions that day are lost memories, but getting my kids home from school and waiting for my wife to make it back to us several hours later was excruciating. Modes of communication were lost or overwhelmed.
In the aftermath, we learned of people in our area who had lost loved ones. We also learned of friends who worked in and around the towers, and how they were affected. Several years ago, we learned that our new daughter-in-law lost an uncle that day. He had been responsible for managing the elevators and escalators at the towers, and was hard at work when the towers fell.
The national unity felt that day, and indeed, for many months that followed, was something that we've lost since then. We must never forget, and must resolve to do whatever we can to secure our democracy from the evil that seeks to destroy it.
One simple thing that got me thru the days that followed 9/11 was Ray Charles's moving rendition of "America the Beautiful." I played it repeatedly for inspiration: https://youtu.be/TRUjr8EVgBg?si=7WSIuxKbqRvIMKug
There's also an amazing rendition of "The Sound of Silence" that has since been incorporated in some great memorial tributes, one of which I play every year: https://youtu.be/LyJRdJd5SGo?si=veGE-SWErqdg-Igi
If you are ever in NYC, you should make a point of visiting the site of the World Trade Center, and spend some time at the amazing memorial. It is truly hallowed ground.
I have to wonder how much stronger the world would be now if, after 9/11, our government had chosen to prosecute the perpetrators of the attacks through an international tribunal such as the court in the Hague. Conventional warfare against other nation states hasn’t dealt with the root causes of the threat. That’s why the threats have persisted...even increased around the world. I can’t say I feel any more secure now than I did in the days after the tragedy. Guns, bombs, and cruise missiles don’t cure the ills of poverty, illiteracy, poor health, or bigotry.
We have had some gorgeous early September days in our corner of New England and when I look up to the soft clarity of the sunlight and cloudless sky I immediately think of 9/11. It was just such a day 22 years ago. We felt the tragedy keenly in Boston where the flights originated. We knew one passenger, the wife of Tony Perkins who was flying out to LA to see a performance by a son’s heavy metal band. A close call for a friend and former colleague who missed his flight owing to especially heavy commuter traffic. Another acquaintance switched her L A flight at the last minute. America once again has a choice. To be beloved in the world or its most hated nation.
I noticed a different series of effects just after 9/11. I live in coastal Maine, but was raised in New York. What I noticed in the first weeks after the attack was a silent tension between "Patriot" citizens, who drove pick-ups with big flags, and those of us who were stunned by the brutality and evil of the 9/11 attack, and worried about what Bush and Cheney would do to retaliate. There was a great silence where there had been easy, unself-conscious interactions. For example, being in the supermarket aisle, people who didn't know each other just looked at each other, or away. It was very quiet, everywhere. But you knew there were intense emotions behind the quiet, emotions that had not yet gathered themselves into coherence.
9/11 is like JFK’s assassination and for my parents and older brother, Pearl Harbor and FDR’s death: you know exactly where you were when you heard of it. (The landing on the Moon is the most joyous event that I think that is true of.) I was in my office working (or trying to look like I was) when our associate came in and asked if I had heard the news. Until the second plane hit, I thought it must be an accident—who could imagine a hijacking? We puttered around the office for a few hours and I remember that for some dumb reason I went to the Mrs. Fields’ cookie shop (remember those?) around the corner. The men who ran the store were a couple of Pakistanis, and they, wiser than me, were worried that their people would be blamed. 9/11 changed everything, but looking back now I can’t say that it was mostly for the good.
Robert’s very affecting remembrance of 9/11 reminds me of the critical difference between that terrible day, and a more recent national trauma: January 6. On the first, Americans were united in the defense of our democracy against terrorism from abroad ; on the the second , only 20 years later, domestic terrorists alienated by demagoguery and disinformation attempted to overturn American democracy. This is a searing reminder of why this newsletter exists : to help empower Americans to defend the form of governance which represents the best in us. That’s why the spirit of it’s readership is so inspiring - and so necessary.
I well remember the shared sense of unity after 9/11, and lamented its loss when the Bush/Cheney administration cynically exploited it to invade Iraq.
Sadly, we had a similar chance to come together during the pandemic. But it was squandered as well, this time by the sheer incompetence of Donald Trump.
Thank you for an excellent post, Robert.
I recall tomorrow morning 22 years ago - the phone rang at 0545 and woke me from a very sound sleep to hear a friend in New York yell "We're at war!" To which I replied "Steven, have you been drinking?" He replied "We're at war! Go turn on your TV!" and hung up, as he said later a bit disgusted with my fog-headedness.
So I stumbled down the hallway from the bedroom to the living room and turned on the TV. Just in time to see the second plane hit the tower. I had two thoughts: finally America wasn't going to get to be fat dumb and happy anymore, and that unfortunately I didn't think we'd face up to it as well as all the people I write about faced up to Pearl Harbor.
Unfortunately, Americans don't like getting slapped in the face by Reality, and it was obvious within six months that we weren't living up to our forbears. And we mostly haven't still. I went though more shit for opposing Widdle Georgie's invasion of Poland, er, I mean Iraq, than I ever did for opposing my war in Vietnam. And striking out as the petulant pre-adolescent we are as a country with our plan to "remake the Middle East" was as idiotic as our efforts in Vietnam, only moreso, because this time actual morons were in charge, rather than the mere idiots of 60 years earlier.
Instructive about 9/11. I had no idea that people on the West Coast did not realize the enormity of the 9/11 attack. We returned from London when we could and were affected seeing the smoking remains of the Towers poking into the night sky as we drove to our apartment in NYC.
Instructive about Brandon Presley. I have written a piece about him and did not know some of what you mentioned. He is one of three appealing governor candidates this November. In addition to supporting Brandon Presley in Mississippi. https://secure.numero.ai/contribute/Brandon-Presley-Campaign-Website?refcode=header&amount=otheri, support Shawn Wilson in Louisiana https://secure.actblue.com/donate/sw-web and the reelection of Andy Beshear in Kentucky https://secure.actblue.com/donate/beshear-web-23?refcode=website.
Instructive about turning aphorisms on their head. Yes to "Good people doing something."
I admit to being a "contrarian" on 9/11. The first thing that occurred to me was that this was the kind of havoc the US has long been embroiled in wreaking on innocent civilians in other countries. The attack on the Twin Towers was decades of imperialism coming home to roost. Of course, it was a horrible tragedy for those killed and injured by the attack and for their families and loved ones; I had and have nothing but sympathy for them. BUT the emotionalism of the response that day seemed to me to reflect hubris and ignorance, assuming that the US was an innocent victim. It was not. It also reflected the fact that the US has been singularly immune from the effects of war and destruction on its own territory. As for the response by the cynical and evil Bush administration, particularly Cheney and not forgetting Powell (and the even more cynical and evil Tony Blair) the world is still living with its consequences, most particularly the successful spread of terrorism throughout the ME and Africa.
Most of us reading Today’s Edition remember 9/11 and have a mental picture of that day and the weeks to follow but for a large portion of todays population they were not alive before that horrendous event. It changed the world and everything in it. One amazing thing happened and that was regardless of party affiliation the entire county came together as one unified and together and American nationalism was clearly on display as American flags and songs filled the air. The threat that was evident on that day to our country and democracy unfortunately has not gone away and it has morphed into another kind of threat to our country.
Joyce Vance wrote the following today. “ We are in a pivotal moment in this country. It comes at a time when Trump fatigue is high. And yet, it has never been more important to keep events in focus. Democracy truly could die in darkness. We must continue to shine light and find ways to share details. Facts have a way of rippling quietly across the surface and finding a home. Although the popular mythology says Trump supporters are lost, again and again I hear stories—we have some among our own friends and family—of people who began to rethink because a kernel of truth got through to them. That’s what we need at this point, not agreement on everything, just a commitment to the ongoing American experiment.”
A beautifully appropriate message in memory of the sad events of 9/11. As important as the preservation of democracy is to our future though, the preservation and clarity of the rule of law and equality thereunder are equally essential if not more so. There are notional democracies all over the world where people go through the motions and the dictators they "elect" proceed to run rampant over their ability to live their lives as they choose. If we are to preserve the freedoms we have and take too much for granted, punishing those who would take them away is every bit as important as getting out to vote. The judicial system is working its way slowly to that end and we must make it abundantly clear that we support the prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and juries who will ensure that justice is done, publicly and without taint. Anyone who does less than that is as much a danger to our system of governance as the insurrectionists who failed on Jan. 6 or the terrorists who failed equally on 9/11.
I was up early for work, watching morning news when they reported a plane had hit the WTC. Disturbing but was it just a small plane? Then the horror is still fresh remembering watching the 2nd plane slam into the 2nd tower. I knew instantly that the US was at war. Stunned days of watching the coverage followed. I remember the silence of the empty skies and trepidation when planes were allowed to again fly. I remember a memorial service for a local man on UA flight 93 who helped storm the cockpit. Today I remember all these horrors, and send my thoughts out to all who lost beloved family, friends, coworkers, citizens, that terrible day.
I sat on my sofa with my hands over my mouth, eyes wide, on the morning of 9/11. I sat on my sofa, with one hand over my mouth, watching Trump, whispering “Oh my God, he’s not going to leave!” Our Indivisible group, created with friends from our community, was created in the following weeks and is hard at it. Thank you for another injection of energy. On we go.
On 9/11/01 my husband was out of work on strike at our local steel mill. He was home and had cable news on. I didn't have to be at work until 10 am. My sister called me in a panic after the North Tower was hit, as our parents were scheduled to fly out to Africa that day. As I reassured her that their flight was not until 1 pm that day, the South Tower was hit and I said to her "My God, Lauren, this was not an accident".
In the days following, my brother in law in New Jersey went to ground zero to volunteer for the bucket brigade, joining with others in passing 5-gallon buckets full of debris down a line to investigators, who sifted through the debris in search of evidence and human remains.
The 9/11 Memorial has 3 detailed, interactive outlines of events here online. One is the 9/11 attack timeline, one is the ground zero recovery timeline and one is of the 1993 WTC bombing.
May we never forget.
https://timeline.911memorial.org/#FrontPage
Thanks for your personal recollections of 9/11. I lived and worked about 50 miles from the twin towers and my wife had just begun a Masters degree program at Rutgers, about 20 miles closer. My own actions that day are lost memories, but getting my kids home from school and waiting for my wife to make it back to us several hours later was excruciating. Modes of communication were lost or overwhelmed.
In the aftermath, we learned of people in our area who had lost loved ones. We also learned of friends who worked in and around the towers, and how they were affected. Several years ago, we learned that our new daughter-in-law lost an uncle that day. He had been responsible for managing the elevators and escalators at the towers, and was hard at work when the towers fell.
The national unity felt that day, and indeed, for many months that followed, was something that we've lost since then. We must never forget, and must resolve to do whatever we can to secure our democracy from the evil that seeks to destroy it.
One simple thing that got me thru the days that followed 9/11 was Ray Charles's moving rendition of "America the Beautiful." I played it repeatedly for inspiration: https://youtu.be/TRUjr8EVgBg?si=7WSIuxKbqRvIMKug
There's also an amazing rendition of "The Sound of Silence" that has since been incorporated in some great memorial tributes, one of which I play every year: https://youtu.be/LyJRdJd5SGo?si=veGE-SWErqdg-Igi
If you are ever in NYC, you should make a point of visiting the site of the World Trade Center, and spend some time at the amazing memorial. It is truly hallowed ground.
The US Govt published this chart with images of FOREIGN 9/11 terrorists https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7458219/US-disclose-Saudi-sought-9-11-victims.html?ito=rss-flipboard
We created this relationship map of the DOMESTIC terrorists behind the Jan 6th attack on Washington. In addition to the violent attackers it also has 80 of the coup plotters in an interactive relationship map. https://thedemlabs.org/2023/09/10/coup-plotters-charted-visual-relationship-map/
I have to wonder how much stronger the world would be now if, after 9/11, our government had chosen to prosecute the perpetrators of the attacks through an international tribunal such as the court in the Hague. Conventional warfare against other nation states hasn’t dealt with the root causes of the threat. That’s why the threats have persisted...even increased around the world. I can’t say I feel any more secure now than I did in the days after the tragedy. Guns, bombs, and cruise missiles don’t cure the ills of poverty, illiteracy, poor health, or bigotry.
We have had some gorgeous early September days in our corner of New England and when I look up to the soft clarity of the sunlight and cloudless sky I immediately think of 9/11. It was just such a day 22 years ago. We felt the tragedy keenly in Boston where the flights originated. We knew one passenger, the wife of Tony Perkins who was flying out to LA to see a performance by a son’s heavy metal band. A close call for a friend and former colleague who missed his flight owing to especially heavy commuter traffic. Another acquaintance switched her L A flight at the last minute. America once again has a choice. To be beloved in the world or its most hated nation.
I noticed a different series of effects just after 9/11. I live in coastal Maine, but was raised in New York. What I noticed in the first weeks after the attack was a silent tension between "Patriot" citizens, who drove pick-ups with big flags, and those of us who were stunned by the brutality and evil of the 9/11 attack, and worried about what Bush and Cheney would do to retaliate. There was a great silence where there had been easy, unself-conscious interactions. For example, being in the supermarket aisle, people who didn't know each other just looked at each other, or away. It was very quiet, everywhere. But you knew there were intense emotions behind the quiet, emotions that had not yet gathered themselves into coherence.
9/11 is like JFK’s assassination and for my parents and older brother, Pearl Harbor and FDR’s death: you know exactly where you were when you heard of it. (The landing on the Moon is the most joyous event that I think that is true of.) I was in my office working (or trying to look like I was) when our associate came in and asked if I had heard the news. Until the second plane hit, I thought it must be an accident—who could imagine a hijacking? We puttered around the office for a few hours and I remember that for some dumb reason I went to the Mrs. Fields’ cookie shop (remember those?) around the corner. The men who ran the store were a couple of Pakistanis, and they, wiser than me, were worried that their people would be blamed. 9/11 changed everything, but looking back now I can’t say that it was mostly for the good.
Robert’s very affecting remembrance of 9/11 reminds me of the critical difference between that terrible day, and a more recent national trauma: January 6. On the first, Americans were united in the defense of our democracy against terrorism from abroad ; on the the second , only 20 years later, domestic terrorists alienated by demagoguery and disinformation attempted to overturn American democracy. This is a searing reminder of why this newsletter exists : to help empower Americans to defend the form of governance which represents the best in us. That’s why the spirit of it’s readership is so inspiring - and so necessary.