It was a day that changed the world and the lives of thousands of people, and no adult who lived through that day will forget its enormity; there have been many other examples of multiple deaths in shocking circumstances, but this one stands apart for its scale, impudence, significance and symbolism. Human reaction at the time caused the damage to escalate and much of the chaos and fragility of the present global situation is due to the events of 9/11 and its aftermath. They have led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people - soldiers and civilians - and a war mentality, and the cost in so many ways has been enormous.
There is good in everything, however dark it may seem at the time: the terrorist attacks brought New York, the United States and the world together in united grief and compassion, and the many individual acts of heroism were remarkable - some even miraculous. The financial, political and geo-political instability which are endemic now, are a direct result of 9/11 and the desire within the US for revenge, and this precarious, polarised nature of our world is necessary for the breaking down of the old order in order to bring in the new consciousness. Sometimes a shock needs to be administered to bring about necessary change, and 9/11 was a huge shock.
I will remember, today, the many who died eleven years ago and those who grieve still, and it is a good day to think too about all who suffer. It is a day for reflection and not judgment, for heart and not mind, and a day also for acceptance.]]>
It's quite true, Claire: the events of 9/11 function on many levels, not merely as symbolism. It's interesting that Osama Bin Laden and he others involved in perpetrating such a massive atrocity as 9/11 methodically planned to take down the World Trade Center (WTC). It was intended as a psychological blow more than anything else, and, that sense, it succeeded brilliantly: for such ilk, the WTC was a symbol of American power. Note the type of power of which it is a symbol: material power and wealth, not that of spirit.
The francophone pop stars Axelle Red and Renaud point to this (indirectly: 'So long! Adieu le reve ame'ricain !') and other contrasts as well in their music video on the subject (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEcCs-So2IA&list=FLA29NoflVq48vvzsN1siwZg&index=69&feature=plpp_video), those of a cultural nature between the perpetrators and the West, etc It helps also to ponder why they chose to include people of several cultures practising Tai Chi in front of the Eiffel Tower and its significance on this subject.
Thank you, William. What you say is very true-so much can be said on and seen in what happened on 9/11 and history wil be very interesting on the subject one hundred years from now!