Each year as September 11 comes around, we are asked to remember where we were. News stations rebroadcast footage from that fateful day. We honor the nearly 3,000 people killed. And we pledge to “never forget.”
I was three years old when 9/11 happened and have no actual memory of that day. Much of my memory is not of the day itself, but of the “after”—the wars, policies, and consequences that have shaped the 25 years since.
As we mark this anniversary, I find myself wondering: Should we do more than remember what happened that day?
Is there a more meaningful way to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, and the many lives lost in the years that followed?
The tragedy of 9/11 became the catalyst for a global War on Terror whose consequences are still with us today.
For me, this 25th anniversary is an opportunity not only to remember, but to reflect on what came after, reckon with what continues to be done in its wake, and consider how we might finally begin to break this cycle of violence.
Endless Wars
Just four days after 9/11, Congress, facing a frightened country looking to them to act, passed the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). One courageous member, former Rep. Barbara Lee, warned her colleagues, “Let us not become the evil that we deplore.”
Let us honor those we lost by working toward a future that breaks from the cycle of fear, violence, and endless war that followed.
Nonetheless, Congress passed an authorization that has become a blank check for war. Since 2001, five successive administrations have cited the AUMF to justify the use of force across the globe and against groups that did not even exist on 9/11.
Endless war should not be how we remember that day or honor the lives lost. On this 25th anniversary, I find myself questioning how a response to one terrible day became a permanent state of war— and what can be done to change this legacy.
Human Rights Violations
Alongside the expansion of war came another lasting legacy: the erosion of human rights in the name of national security. In January of 2002, the first detainees arrived at the U.S detention facility at Guantánamo Bay. Since then, nearly 800 men have been held there, and the prison has become synonymous with torture, indefinite detention, and other human rights violations.
The same 2001 AUMF used to justify decades of military force has also provided the legal basis for wartime detention at Guantánamo. Twenty-five years later, 15 men remain imprisoned there, while years of torture and other abuses have complicated efforts to bring cases to a lawful resolution.
Despite support from members of Congress and 9/11 victims’ families for plea agreements that could resolve longstanding cases, political opposition has helped keep Guantánamo (and this legacy of 9/11) alive, leaving the door open for further abuse.
Beyond Remembrance
The legacy of U.S. policy after 9/11 stands in stark contrast to Quaker beliefs and the World We Seek through FCNL’s advocacy.
On this 25th anniversary, I urge us to not only wait for the National Day of Remembrance each year to reflect on the tragedy and legacy of 9/11. Let us honor those we lost by working toward a future that breaks from the cycle of fear, violence, and endless war that followed.
