People may or may not know that approximately every twenty seconds, a baby is killed through a process called abortion; every two minutes, someone dies from heart disease; every fifteen minutes, someone dies in a car accident; every twenty minutes, someone commits suicide; every thirty minutes, someone is murdered; every three days, someone is killed in an airplane crash; and every five days, someone is killed by lightning. Whether they like it or not, whether sooner or later, every single person will die.So, if death is literally an “everyday thing,” why did September 11, 2001, turn this country upside down?
America was thought to be invulnerable. Terrorism was something that happened to people on the other side of the world. America was safe. Then, on September 11, 2001, there was a series of plane attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania—2,973 people were killed.
Security restrictions tightened in the United States, and government officials put their heads together to try to figure out how to prevent that kind of terrorism in this country again. Meanwhile, the American people were responding. Flags appeared on porches, windows, and clothes. Everywhere, grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations, and bumper stickers blared their new messages: “God Bless America,” “In God We Trust,” and “United We Stand.” The air was full of the news of the attacks. Was America falling? Would there be more attacks? God, help us! Had Americans lost their security in the freedom and strength of America enough to turn to God?
It didn’t last very long, however. Several months, maybe? Then the clamor for prayer services and flags began to die down. Security was heightened in the United States, and we began to feel more confident again. September 11 was still a live memory, but the shadows of time were changing it more into a page in a history book. America seemed safe again, and the signs that had appeared everywhere melted away.
Are we invulnerable once more? Has America become that unbreakable nation it was a little over five years ago? Yes, enemy countries are being watched by mastermind U.S. officials, and yes, immigration into this country is being regulated, and yes, increased numbers of uniformed and plain clothes security officers have been deployed to all airports to provide greater surveillance, but will this save us?
Perhaps it will disappoint some to know that no matter how well we seal our borders, or how many bottles of juice and shaving cream we confiscate from plane passengers, there is no way we can protect ourselves from God’s judgment. America can fall. There was a taste of this falling on September 11, and in God’s eyes, we’re just as liable to fall again.
Sources:
http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/t060517.html
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/08/911.overview/index.html
http://www.unitedjustice.com/death-statistics.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11,_2001_attacks
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