The World Trade Center and Pentagon Terrorist Attacks
This is an education site - not a political site - so I’ll be brief.
I don’t use the phrases “9/11″ or “September 11.” Instead, I refer to the events 6 years ago today as what they were - a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the United States - rather than focusing on when they happened. That they happened on a certain day is an irrelevant detail.
I understand that “9/11″ and the like are shorthand; it’s a convenient way to sum up a complex issue. But I don’t bother with the day for the same reason I don’t say “December 25″ when I really mean Christmas.
I won’t use a particular day to ponder something so relevant and important to our daily lives. I tend to relegate thoughts about the Battle of Gettsyburg to early July because, at this stage in America’s history, its daily significance has passed. But the effects of the WTC and Pentagon terrorist attacks are currently as important on September 10, September 12 and every other day as they are on the 11th and in no way will I pretend that they aren’t.
It does a disservice to the commitment of every serviceman and supporter of our efforts to regard this day with much more importance than any other day; a man who showers his wife with love and attention only on their wedding anniversary doesn’t have much of a marriage at all. If you ask me how I feel about the WTC/Pentagon attacks, you’ll get the same answer today as you will a month from now.
Mark Steyn has reprinted his September 12, 2001 column called “A War for Civilization” and added a bit of perspective - it demands a careful read.
And a note from my personal archives:
