9/11 : The Bottom Line ?

It is September 11th, 2011, and once again the painful  anniversary of one of the most tragic events in modern North America consumes the mind.  The total destruction of the World Trade Center  Twin Towers and the loss of thousands of  lives in  an unprecedented, choreographed attack by extremists remains a terrorist attack unparallelled in the history of the United States. As the bell tolls at Ground Zero and countless names are read once more, it seems nothing must remain unsaid except the truth.

At Incoming Bytes we can only offer condolences and prayers for families that lost loved ones. We can only remember in silence the desperation, fear and confusion on the faces of people watching this horrific event unfold on television--a surreal happening that affected everyone as the news was updated instantly. Terrible images,  being played over and over, relentlessly and cruelly destroyed any doubt that remained. We can only relive those terrible moments.
 
Tears welled up in the eyes of the helpless; anger rose, disbelief  overwhelming reason as  it  became  clear the tragedy was not a terrible mistake, not raw television entertainment, but reality.  Stunned silence spoke of fear at the shocking transition.
The fact is, the warm, fuzzy illusion of  reality and  the error of believing in normal life has changed forever as many questions remain unanswered today, ten years later. 
What really happened? Why? Where did this evil originate?  Was it foreign, home-made, or a tangled web of murder and conspiracy to generate fear? Was it the opening salvo of a war on western civilization as we know it?  Was it based on a distorted segment of organized, bitter and unforgiving religious dogma bent on giving notice to the world to convert or die?  Was it a declaration of war upon an unjust, unsustainable global economic system?  Here at Incoming Bytes The reader is encouraged to make conclusions by observation. Think.

The bottom line increasingly seems to suggest the truth has not yet come out, and is unlikely to be revealed in my lifetime.  Each of us in careful reflection must draw our own uniqe bottom line-- and attempt to come to our own conclusions. Media spin, political lies, and distorted fact coupled with willful, evil intent is not helpful in ascertaining truth.  Inevitably, the truth must come out as it always does, but meantime, let us collectively mature and admit our true feelings.

The bottom line, then immediately becomes more  clear.  To me it is based  not only on the stark  reality of 10 years ago, and the unimaginable event unfolding, but also  the  strange, unbelievable and terrible  contradiction observed in humanity itself.
 
I must be honest. Ten years later, on this anniversary,   I once again reflect in silence, knowing nothing can change the past, yet I remain angry.   Why?   The bottom line is painfully obvious and very simple.   Like the people surrounding me in the waiting room,  collectively numbed by the unbelievable horror of the unfolding event before us,  I was in the  gentle company of wonderful people trying desperately to save the life of a loved one -- in the cancer unit of a hospital-- watching with tears in my eyes---while incomprehensibly arrogant, bitter, devious and evil people secretly rejoiced at the  mindless and brutal killing of thousands of innocent people--for nothing.   The old adage 'know thyself' comes to mind, and the fact is, I do not know how to accommodate that unfathomable lack of humanity other than by faith in our Lord.

May they be forgiven.


That's my story and I'm sticking to it.