Ten Years After 9/11

It has been ten years since since 9/11. For anyone interested I related my personal experience of 9/11 elsewhere.

It is very sad what happened to those and that their loved ones have lost them.

I feel sad that the US government, in response to 9/11, has eroded personal civil liberties in ways that are wrong. I feel particularly strongly on this issue after learning of the useless and vicious 'enhanced pat downs' that were instituted by the TSA in airports last November to coerce passengers into entering controversial full body scanners.

So often I hear people say we live in a changed world after 9/11. That is true, but this fact should be used as justification to surrender liberties to the state, letting them poke and prod in our lives in ways that would have been unjustifiable before 9/11. We also should not forget that Al Qaeda has been severely crippled, not least after the wicked mastermind himself, Osama bin Laden, was killed by US soldiers. We must not let the fear of Al Qaeda permit our government to erode our liberties.

I would like to share here the following books I have read concerning 9/11.

God @ Ground Zero by Ray Giunta and Lynda Rutledge Stephenson.

One chaplin's personal account of his experiences in Ground Zero. This book really helped me learn to be more sympathetic with those who endure traumatic experiences. An unforgettable account of those who responded to this catastrophic emergency containing moving stories of peoples caught up in this most terrible crime. It provides a glimpse into the lives of those who respond to disasters.

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright.

An astounding and superb account of the history of Al Qaeda up to December 2001, with emphasis upon the lives of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Essential reading for any one wanting an account of how those two men came to lead that most infamous terrorist group.

I found this book unexpectedly comforting. This was the book that made me realize clearly that Al Qaeda is actually a bizarre, small, Islamic based cult and that the vast majority of Muslims are very different from Al Qaeda. To imagine that the majority of Muslims are like Al Qaeda is like imagining every American is like the Ku Klux Klan.