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Shaken Foundations:
Reflections on 9/11
By Shiao Chong, Christian Reformed Campus Minister
Serving at York University, Toronto
www.logoscrc.ca |
chaplain@logoscrc.ca
In a speech on the night of the
September 11th terrorist attacks, President Bush told us that though
the foundations of a building can be shaken, the foundations of a nation cannot.
In many ways, this is true. America will survive as a nation. Its commerce will
continue to thrive. Its political and military apparatuses will march on. Yet,
in other ways, the foundations are shaken.
I, for one, was shaken. I heard the
horrific news of the plane crashes on the radio as I was driving on the 401 into
York University. Like so many others, I almost couldn’t believe what I heard,
and later, what I saw on TV. The feelings of shock and disbelief soon turned
into sorrow and mourning. But before long my feelings turned into fear, perhaps,
irrational fear. I feared that the CN Tower might be a target. Or what if an
airplane came crashing right onto the busy stretch of the 401 in front, or on
top, of me? I feared for my wife and my two daughters still too young to
comprehend the devastation occurring. Echoing what so many others interviewed by
the press and media said, I admit that my life was never the same again. As I
scanned the faces of the many York students who crowded the television in the
East Bear Pit watching the US memorial ceremony on Friday, Sept. 14th,
I saw my reflection. The same mixed feelings of sorrow, anguish, fear and anger
were etched on their faces as they were on mine. We have all been shaken.
Contrary to Bush, Americans, too, are
shaken. The radio news reported that gun sales have skyrocketed in the US after
the attacks as Americans seek something to regain their sense of security. The
Toronto Star reported, “US psyche forever changed”. Not only for
Americans, I suspect, but Canadians too, and many others in the world, have
their views of the world shaken, if not altered. The taken-for-granted view that
superpower America is invincible is shaken. The Star quoted a Manhattan
psychiatrist that “Everybody [in the US] just figured we were untouchable. We
were bemused by our wealth and felt that we were in the land of milk and honey
and nothing terrible was going to happen” (Toronto Star, Sept. 14, 2001).
Let’s face it. Canadians also, to some extent, believed in this myth. Although
for us, it’s not so much our invincibility as in our world-renowned popularity
that seems to shield us from such abominations. Everybody likes Canadians right?
Why would anybody attack us? After Tuesday, we are not so sure anymore.
We have all been shaken in different
ways. For some, their faith in humanity is shaken. For others, their faith in
God. Yet maybe for some, their faith in themselves. But though our faith can be
shaken, we cannot allow these terrorists to destroy our faith. Because if we do,
then we have lost.
We need to grieve, yes. And mourn. But
we cannot allow ourselves to enter a collective depression. We must work through
the grieving process and emerge from the ashes stronger and, almost certainly,
sadder. To wallow in a morbid, collective self-pity is to admit defeat.
That is why we needed rituals and
ceremonies like the ones held on the day of mourning. We needed something to
give us, at least temporarily, emotional, psychological and spiritual closure. I
applaud the York University administration for holding a moment of silence at
the flagpole in the Common. I joined the many York students, faculty and staff
that afternoon in remembrance of the US victims. The lyrics of Susan Aglukark’s
songs played and the words of Martin Luther King read for us touched me as, I am
sure, it did many of those present. Although Inuit Aglukark and African-American
King are both Christians, their words echo the finest aspirations of all
religious faiths – love and unity for all.
Therefore, we cannot and should not
respond in vengeance and hatred. We must seek justice but not revenge. Already
the web of hatred is spreading: the Muslim Arab communities are threatened and
fire-bombs have been thrown at mosques. We cannot fight evil with evil. The
pressure is already mounting on the US administration to retaliate with a
military strike that will make the Gulf War look like a backyard skirmish. As
Afghanistan is the prime target at the moment, I fear for the innocent people
there. I wonder how the children and women of Afghanistan must feel right now,
those who have nothing to do with their current regime or with the prime suspect
Ossama bin Ladin. If I could give a word to Bush, I would paraphrase pop star
Sting’s lyrics, “I know the Afghans love their children too” (“Russians,” from
the album Fields of Gold).
We cannot allow ourselves to become that
which we hate. We cannot behave and act in violence like the terrorists. For if
we do, then we have lost.
Bush said in another speech that this is
a war between good and evil, and that good will prevail. Good will NOT prevail
if we hate instead of love, if we divide instead of unite, if we see ‘good
against evil’ as ‘us against them’. No one group of people have a monopoly on
either goodness or evil. Good and evil runs right through the heart of every
single one of us, regardless of race, culture, class, gender or religion. If
good is to prevail, then we cannot stoop to the evil of these terrorists. If
good is to triumph, we must not create barriers but we must strive to break down
the walls that divide us.
Yes, we are shaken. The foundations of
our faith, of our worldviews, are shaken. But we do not have to fall. We can
still stand up to evil.
“All people of the world
It’s time to make the turn
A chance to share your heart
To make a brand new start
And watch the walls come tumbling down
O siem
We are all family
O siem
We’re all the same
O siem
The fires of freedom
Dance in the burning flame”
(Susan Aglukark, “O Siem” from the album This Child)
Copyright © Shiao C. Chong 2001
This article can be copied and distributed freely provided its content has not
been changed. This resource cannot be sold or distributed for financial gain. It
must be free. And it must be unedited. Otherwise, the author reserves all rights
to the resource.
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