September 11th and
the problem of evil

By TOM RUE

What darkness in the human mind could conceive of such unspeakable evil as the destruction of Manhattan’s glittering twin towers, occupied by ordinary people whose only crime was to show up for work in the morning?

The recent attack on our nation is reminiscent not only of a 1993 bombing of the same structures, but of certain writings by a member of the so-called “Trenchcoat Mafia”—a couple of punks in Littleton, Colorado. Two years ago they decided they wanted to kill most of their classmates and hijack a 747 full of passengers. They dreamed of crashing the plane into the World Trade Center in New York. Their goal was a “body count” in the thousands. With the weapons available to them, they succeeded in amassing a body count of 15. But the dream of these tormented children was realized this week by the actions of fanatical foreigners.

What differences and similarities exist between the teenagers who fantasized in a diary about crashing a 747 into the towers, but failed not for lack of serious intent but only because of limited abilities and resources, and adults who carried out the twisted fantasy?

By no means do I suggest a connection between the assault on Columbine High School by two of its own and the destruction of the World Trade Center by foreigners. But I cannot keep from sadly wondering at the similarity of intent. Such a grievous destruction of innocent civilians surely qualifies for the term “crime against humanity.”

At the present writing, it feels as though we are being catapulted into a war of tremendous proportion, which I fear will solve and accomplish little and cost much. Some say that we are already engaged, but until we strike back, I must differ. A path is not chosen until it is acted upon.

As we often attempt to teach children, it takes (at least) two to fight. And as Mandela, Gandhi, Mohammed, Jesus and Buddha have taught, there are many ways to oppose evil.

At a conference this week in Liberty, New York, a speaker told of a man who was with his young child watching the TV news. Feeling torn about whether he should censor what his son was allowed to watch, the father asked the boy, “What do you see?” The boy replied that he saw buildings falling and a lot of people being killed. Crowds of people ran from the buildings, he said. “But the firefighters and police ran toward the buildings,” the boy reportedly observed. The speaker had tears in his eyes as he told this story, as did much of the audience. These civil servants understood the value of sacrifice, and the way they did (and others are still doing) their duty is the epitome of valor.

We all respect and admire the tremendous courage of those who volunteer to put their lives on the line in defense of life and liberty. This goes for soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines as much as it does for the firemen and police. If our country goes to war, I will support the troops in every way. I am filled with sadness for those who died in the recent attacks, for their families, friends and loved ones.

Yet, I cannot agree with those who call for war.

No matter how one tries, it is hard to face up to unmitigated evil. Flying into those buildings was evil. I don’t know the solution to evil in the world. But to think that a likely world war will stop future acts of terror on our soil, perhaps of the same or even a grander scale, is naive folly and ignores the lessons of history.

But goodness, such as we saw and continue to see among the workers at “ground zero,” by itself gives reason for hope and continued struggle against humanity’s dark side.