On September 11th 2001 terrorists killed more people in a single day than have ever been killed in any war we know of on North American soil. The thought of that has haunted me since that day and has made me think quite a lot about my hobbies.
Reenacting is sometimes a very silly hobby about a very serious topic. This can cause us to lose sight about a number of things that are fundamental about those whose lives we reenact. The simple fact is that the reenactor, even the most serious ones are in a hobby. Hobbies are for fun. The people we reenact weren't there for the fun of it. Some were there there for high principals, some were there for money, but nobody was there as a hobby. The folks we reenact were deadly serious about what they were doing, they were living there lives, just as we were on September 11th.
What is different about us and those we reenact? Tons of things really, but the one I noticed as I thought about it was hobbies. Most people in even the recent past couldn't have hobbies that took up much time or cost too much of their income, there just wasn't enough leisure time or extra resources unless you were very rich. As time has passed, the world changed. We live longer, and have more options available to us than anyone has ever had. We have this because of the people we reenact. Their sacrifices made it possible for us to live in these prosperous times.
Today we are suddenly faced with our own difficult times. I am not convinced we know today how difficult it will be. We are used to fast things now, and the campaign that is being talked about will take years and very real resolve. As I write this, the United States is talking like it knows the challenge ahead of it, I am not convinced we do know the challenge. Today the world says it backs us, I am not sure they will in a year when the price keeps going up.
All that said, I keep coming back to the thought that more people died September 11th 2001 than on any day during our bloody civil war or revolution. The people that died in the battles of the civil war and revolution died to to make our lives as good as they are and at least had that thought to comfort them as they fought. The people killed on September 11th didn't even know they were in a war.
The war is about culture. The American culture is secular and allows people from around the world to come to our country and do what they want. Millions have come here for that, millions more would if they could. This freedom allowed people from the terrorist groups to come to our country and learn to fly jets and no one thought twice about it. Freedom isn't always safe for us, but we prefer it to the alternative. The states the terrorists would have are not paradises, they are repressive. From the recent Iranian experiences to the new regime in Afghanistan we have seen what these states are like, and it isn't pretty. I suspect the illegal immigrant issues are pretty slight in the Afghan Islamic paradise.
If the war accomplishes the objectives the United States has set, it will be another advance for humanity. Hopefully it will allow more parts of the world to get to the same standards the we hold take for granted. Reenacting can remind us that we won't be the first to pay a heavy price for freedom. Good reenacting is a teacher to the participants as much as to the audience.
So much real human suffering has come from the pursuit of freedom, yet the Taliban, the Sudan, Iraq and Iran are there are reminders of why the price has to be paid. If we are willing to pay the price over the next few years, we can make the deaths of September 11th 2oo1 worth every bit as much to humanity as those who died to build the United States we know today.
These are my initial thoughts on the tragedy of September 11th 2001. If you have thoughts you would like to share, and I will post them here.