9/11 2001.
It was the day the world changed. Conventional wisdom went out of the window that day, it came crashing down with those two beautiful buildings.
I am sitting through the documentary series they made to commemorate the tragedy. It is a series documenting the day through the eyes of the survivors. This was a tragedy of epic proportions, made worse because the whole world was watching it in real time. It was a sign of global connectivity, a tragedy that touched millions of lives across the world.
It was also the start of the 'War on Terror.' Americans rallied. They reacted. It was a tragedy, a disaster, a catastrophe. It was an act of terrorism that needed to be avenged. America sent its agents and soldiers out into the world, fully suited up, armed to the teeth with only one command; Avenge Us. Vengeance was sought and vengeance was had. It was called justice.
Even today, the world mourns. The grief is real. The disaster was real. The lives lost were real. However, Americans live their lives thinking they were the only victims. The truth is much more complex. These terrorists utilised innocent people, hijacked public transport to carry out their heinous act. There is excusing their actions. There is no condoning their actions. That is not the question. The question that we should ask ourselves is this. Can we understand their actions? It is easy to dismiss it as fanaticism. When you demonise the terrorist, you dehumanise them. You dismiss them as psychopaths, as bad people whose actions cannot possibly be understood. When you block off understanding, you lose the chance to know.
What I think National Geographic should do, is make a series of documentaries; A Day in Afghanistan. They should do a similar style documentary, told through the eyes of the survivors of US drone strikes in Afghanistan. Do a minute by minute documentary of a 'righteous strike' planned and executed by American soldiers. I think this will cause a shift in many opinions. The difference between what happened in the US on that one day and what happens on a semi regular basis in Afghanistan is the fact that one act was perpetrated by individuals and another was carried out by a uniformed soldiers in service of their country. In the purest sense of the word, the Americans on Afghani soil are terrorists too. There is no denying that either.
Just. Me.
