25 Years Later, We Still Need the Courage to Confront Evil

A quarter-century is a long time for anyone, but for the over 100 million Americans born since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, it’s ancient history.

There will be poignant ceremonies on Friday in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to remember the 2,977 people killed by radical Islamic terrorists.

Names will be read, bells will be rung and tears will be shed. Writing in The Wall Street Journal last week, columnist Peggy Noonan summed up the sentiment of many of us when she reflected:

Never lie about the things that break your heart. I’ll never get over it, none of us will. 

Those who weren’t alive need to be reminded about what happened and why. They need to know that evil men waged an ideological and religious war on America – a campaign that has never ended. They also need to know that America fought back courageously, heroically and sacrificially. 

It was perplexing to see the first Twin Tower burning in New York City on that September morning. It was then shocking to see the second tower hit by the second commercial airliner. The ultimate gut punch, though, came a few hours later as the buildings came down.

Have you ever watched thousands of people die all at once, live on television?

Those of a certain age will remember how everything seemed to be spinning out of control that day. After the Twin Towers in Manhattan were hit, the Pentagon was attacked by another commercial jet, and finally, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania. We only later learned of the valiant efforts of its passengers to reclaim control and drive it into the ground to prevent the hijackers from reaching its intended target of either the U.S. Capitol or the White House.

Were there more hijacked planes? Nobody knew, but anything and every bad thing seemed possible.

At the time, I was serving as Focus on the Family Founder Dr. James Dobson’s research assistant. We were meeting in his office, watching the horror unfold on his floor console television. Tears were streaming down our faces.

“When you don’t know what to do, you do what you know how to do,” he said. “Let’s pray.”

Dr. Dobson, along with his cousin, the Rev. HB London, called the ministry’s 1,300 employees together that morning for a prayer service. Eventually, Focus on the Family sent a team to New York City to minister to those working at “Ground Zero” – the World Trade Center site.

Post-9/11 Americans need to know that citizens gathered in record numbers at churches all across the nation in the days and weeks following the attacks. Many churches had to add seats and even services to accommodate the surge.

“The horror triggered a temporary spiritual revival,” Focus President Jim Daly recalled this week. “A patriotic fervor also swept across the country as Americans proudly displayed the flag. There was also political unity. Just days after the attacks, Republicans and Democrats gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and sang ‘God Bless America.’”

Americans born after 9/11 also need to know that Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of al-Qaeda, the radical Islamist terrorist group responsible for the attacks, concocted the murderous scheme in the hope of driving the United States into a religious war. He knew that by hitting America, American forces would hit back – and that retaliatory strikes would hopefully inspire more radical Islamic recruits.

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, a.k.a. “The 9/11 Commission,” concluded:

Plans to attack the United States were developed with unwavering single-mindedness throughout the 1990s. Bin Laden saw himself as called “to follow in the footsteps of the Messenger and to communicate his message to all nations,” and to serve as the rallying point and organizer of a new kind of war to destroy America and bring the world to Islam.

As some Americans either flirt with or even fan dangerous and destructive political ideologies, it’s important to be reminded of who and what was behind the evil of 9/11. 

Only fools take history lightly or ignore it altogether. 

“On this sober 25th anniversary, may we never lose sight of our need for the Lord, for one another, and for courage to confront the evil that motivated the 9/11 terrorist attacks,” shared Jim Daly.

He then added: 

“It’s my prayer that the Lord will comfort those who still mourn and bless those who continue to serve and defend our nation from future aggression.”