One
September morning, eleven years ago, as many of us prepared for our day, or
were on our way to work, we got the news of a tragic and criminal series of
events. The loss of life was shocking, with roughly 3,000 people dying. The
overall impact was, however, far, far greater, leading to hundreds of
thousands, if not more than a million deaths.
We
were told, virtually immediately, and with incessant repetition, that “this
changes everything,” and that “now we are at war.” We watched in horror as the
footage of the Twin Towers’ collapse was played, over and over and over again
on virtually every television station, grinding the emotional trauma in,
imprinting it indelibly on our memories.
The
crimes of 9/11 have been used to justify two tragic and illegal wars. Voices of
those questioning the nature of these horrific acts—criminal actions or acts of
war—were excluded from the public debate. The Bush administration never even
considered using international law to address the situation. Rather, with broad
bipartisan support, they rushed our nation headlong into an invasion of
Afghanistan that has led to the longest war in our nation’s history, one that
is still costing countless lives and $2 billion each week.
Framing
a complex situation in simplistic, good-versus-evil terms, the Bush
administration seized the opportunity to broadly expand their own power. With
the nation wrapped in fear, they pushed through the PATRIOT Act and undertook
programs of domestic spying that seriously eroded our civil liberties.
Further,
they conflated Iraq and Saddam Hussein with the crimes of 9/11 and used this as
leverage to press for a second tragic and illegal war in a blatant attempt to
dominate the Persian Gulf region with its enormous oil and gas deposits.
Clearly, they’ve exploited these events to divert to the Military-Industrial
Complex hundreds of billions of dollars annually; funds sorely needed to meet
human and environmental needs, and to invest in a sustainable future for all.
We
can no longer afford to allow the post-9/11 fears to be used to misdirect our
nation. We need to come together to make a clear statement to our community, to
our elected officials and to all who will listen: We say “No More Victims!’ We insist that the
cycle of violence end now.
We
will gather at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 11 in front of the Boone County
Courthouse. We will hold a candlelight vigil and reflect on moving forward
toward a more peaceful future. Our speakers are the Rev. Maureen Dickmann,
pastor of Rock Bridge Christian Church, and Dr. Rashed Nizam, Chair of the
Board of the Islamic Center of Central Missouri. Music will be provided by
Caravan. If you share these sentiments, we hope you will join us there.
