Nine Years Later: The Complexity of Freedom

Frequent crossings into Manhattan this summer had me thinking about the World Trade Center site. While it was clear that an enormous amount of construction and development on the site was in progress, I wondered --why had it taken so long to really get underway?  Granted, it represents a precious piece of lower Manhattan real estate, but larger projects are no doubt undertaken and accomplished in a shorter amount of time. There clearly  is an enormous amount of  emotion tied up with the loss of more than 2700 lives. At the same time, did the delay, wrangling, and lack of speedy process serve as a metaphor -- perhaps a metaphor of living -- for an identity crisis that afflicted the United States of America in the wake of this most grievous terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

With George W. Bush's attack on Iraq, which essentially destabilized that country, followed by years of economic malaise and now Barack Obama's own equally well-intended but questionable expansion of our military adventure in Afghanistan,it would appear that there may be something to this. After all, America has always been, first and foremost, a land of action. In the days foLlowing the 9/11 attacks, the _US basked in international goodwill and sympathy. Many Muslims worldwide criticized the actions of the hijackers and their puppetmasters, saying this did not represent Islam. The current threats of Koran burnings and polls showing that Americans supported freedom of religion but were not completely comfortable with the building of the mosque within the Ground Zero neighborhood, suggests, if nothing else, that this national soul searching continues. Anger and distrust toward Islam continues. American Muslims,who deplored the 9/11 attacks, are now pressed into a corner.Can moderate Muslims worldwide do more to find ways to challenge the extremists ? Who knows if that is even possible. Does American democracy and the freedom that it offers unwittingly provide fertile ground for those who would destroy or subvert it? President Obama's most recent statement on the growing hostility toward Islam within the US was eloquent and decisive but at the same time fails to address the fears and concerns of other Americans who see us fighting uncertain wars against Muslim peoples overseas, at the same time we are reminded to "never forget" the attacks of that awful day nine years ago. The World Trade Center and memorial rises from the ashes. The fighting overseas continues. Secretary Napolitano warns that the chance of another major terrorist strike continues to exist. New Yorkers remember those long days of fire, smoke and death. The sirens and alarms of emergency vehicles continued for days without end. Nine years later, the sadness remains for the families that lost loved ones, children who last parents.But nine years later,the soul searching and reflection, as evidenced in the current confusion, hostility, and uncertainty, continues without any sign of ending. The New American paradigm in the Age of Terror continues but thankfully so does the Unites States of America as a rambunctious, argumentative and complex home of freedom. There are no easy answers to the complexity of freedom.