September 11, 2001, like November 22, 1963, April 4, 1968, and January 28, 1986, is a day on which those living remember where they were, what they were doing, who was there with them, and even what they were wearing. The images of flames, billowing jet-black smoke, the terrified faces of pedestrians dashing for cover, and soot- and ash-covered firemen wearing trauma in their gazes are seared in our brains. Even though most heard the sounds through television or radio speakers — emergency sirens blaring, the explosions of white-hot steel beams, and the gut-wrenching final calls of airline passengers and World Trade Center occupants – they haunt us still today.
The visceral reaction to an attack on America, on our very shores, not a foreign vessel or embassy, resulted in patriotism and volunteerism not truly experienced for decades prior. Of course, anxiety reigned in us, but with an extra measure of patience and forgiveness extended to most, but not all, fellow Americans.
After 25 years of processing the tragic and extraordinary events of 9/11, retrospect requires me to consider the months before that fateful day. Ten months before the attack, Americans had concluded the most divisive Presidential campaign in modern history – or so we thought. The 2000 race rested on the electoral votes of Florida, where the vote margins were razor thin, and the irregularities were glaring.
Within hours, the Bush and Gore campaigns dispatched armies of lawyers and high-level operatives to the state to sort out the votes and “save the country” from one another. Only a few days later, the Democratic and Republican parties marshaled “warm bodies” to descend on South Florida for a recount. I was among the warm bodies flown into Fort Lauderdale by the GOP and spent 8 hours a day for 5 straight days in a hurricane operations center observing mostly volunteers trying to determine if a tiny square of beige cardboard was “pregnant,” “hanging,” “swinging,” or “tri-chads.” Even that natural disaster bunker could not save us from the disaster that was the 2020 presidential election.
On December 8th, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a recount of the 61,000 “undervotes” not tabulated by the voting machines. The Bush campaign immediately filed for a stay with the United States Supreme Court to stop the recount. On December 11th, SCOTUS granted the stay, ending the recount and leading Vice President Gore to concede. Many politicos and observers believed then and now that Gore would have defeated Bush in the recount to become President. The proverbial “salt in the wound” was that Gore had won the popular vote but lost his home state of Tennessee.
The context is important to what happened on September 11th because America was divided, distrustful of our government and the electoral process. We were angry, though we tried to console ourselves by saying things like, “Democracy worked because there was no attempted coup, no armed insurrection such as has occurred in lesser countries.” Then, we were caught off guard and attacked. Almost no one outside of government predicted it, and in the moment and the aftermath, no one asked, “Did you vote for Bush or Gore?”
It would be irresponsible not to acknowledge that Muslim-Americans were often treated poorly and discriminated against in the name of patriotism during the weeks and months, and years that followed 9/11. The practice swelled the existing darkness that affected the nation.
But the way in which most of the country came together following the attacks has me wondering, “If a similar attack on American soil by a terrorist organization or sovereign nation occurred today, would we unite as we did following 9/11?”
Sadly, I’m not sure.
The political discourse today seems more vitriolic than in 2001, but perhaps it’s a matter of proximity. Families and friends either don’t speak or, at a minimum, don’t speak about politics. While trust in the government is arguably slightly better than the days of Watergate, we act as if we are more afraid of our fellow Americans than ever. And what constitutes a crisis or attack on the country and our “way of life” depends on who you ask.
The times we live in are heavy, but I prefer to lean into the everyday deeds of our citizens. There’s the Arkansas Spider-Man, fully costumed, who exited his vehicle at a traffic light to help a wheelchair-bound man cross the street. Then, there are the Kiln, Mississippi middle schoolers who worked together to stop a school bus safely and save the life of the bus driver during a medical emergency. In Austin, Texas, a crowd spontaneously cheered and encouraged a toddler as he mustered the courage to jump off the diving board. An Alabama Amazon driver rushed into a house fire to save a woman and her elderly mother, and a father and son in California stood guard outside an unlocked candy store until a security guard arrived.
We have all seen these kinds of stories on the news and in our social media feeds, but it is what is at the heart of these acts that gives me hope. These acts of kindness or heroism demonstrate a capacity to put others before ourselves. They reveal a sense of duty inside most of us; decency, neighborliness, and at least a modicum of respect for humanity.
God forbid that there is ever another 9/11 or similar attack, but if it occurs, even in these polarizing days, I will bet we Americans will have each other’s backs.