Did the World change after Sept 11, 2001, when planes guided by Islamic terrorists demolished the World Trade Center in New York City? Most certainly, the immediate changes in the New York area were obvious: the death and destruction, the disruption of life, the panic and despair of the people, and the devastation in the lives of all the families and friends of the nearly 3000 people who died. Much has been written. The entire nation felt for the dead and afflicted. It was a wake up call for America, the realization that terrorism was real, and that we were not immune to being attacked on our own soil.
But did the world really change? Certainly there was worldwide compassion for the victims and the American people (though not universal). Other than what happened in New York, the world itself did not really change. Terrorism was nothing new, and the majority of the people in the world continued with business as usual. What really changed was the awareness and attitudes of the American people.
Now let’s put things in global perspective.
Of the 6.4 billion people in the world, 280 million live in the United States, comprising 1/23 (4.3%) of the world's population. China's population is approximately 1.35 billion (21% of world), India's is 1.1 Billion. What we used to call the U.S.S.R. has about 290 million, a little more than the U.S.. It is estimated that about 5.2 billion people live in the "less developed" countries and 1.2 billion live in the "more developed" countries. (All of these numbers are estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau). Its a good chance that a substantial number of people, especially those in less developed and remote areas were not even aware of the event, at least not until a much a later date.
Let’s look at some disasters of recent years. Hurricane Mitch (1998) killed 18,000 people in Central America. In Iran, 43,000 died in as a result of a massive earthquake (2003). The recent genocide in the Sudan has resulted in an estimated 70,000 deaths. The Rwanda massacres of 1994 killed 800,000; in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992-1995), 200,000 dead. The Tsunami of December 2004 took about 200,000 lives.
During the invasion of Afghanistan (2001-2003), 3500 Afghan civilians lost there lives as well as 8600 combatants. About 150 American Servicemen were killed during the period.
The Iraq War (2003-2005) has left an estimated 100,000 Iraqi civilians and 30,000 military dead. Most certainly these people had nothing to do with attacking America. The U.S. has lost over 1500 troops in Iraq, other coalition fatalities total about 200. ( March 24, 2005 ).
I began by suggesting that maybe it was not so much the world that changed, but people's attitudes. Attitudes turned into actions, and now the world has changed. America lives in a new awareness and under new security measures. By virtue of the fact that the United States is the most powerful military, political, and economic force in the world, our policies and actions have changed the world. The world now lives with the doctrine of pre-emptive strike, though this seems to be only the choice of superpowers (who cannot be challenged). This can also be interpreted as the doctrine of "Might makes Right." The rest of the world has had to adapt to our policies and our behavior, which in turn have changed the attitudes and behaviors of other peoples.
I pass no judgment, draw no conclusions. This is only an attempt to look at the bigger picture, and stimulate some questions. What is obvious to the rest of the world is that the U.S. places a much higher value on American lives than on those of other nations. This is natural and understandable, particularly in wartime, but it is nonetheless extremely arrogant and ethno-centric. When such an attitude becomes a the basis for policy and a rationalization for violence, I believe it only serves to perpetuate more of the same.
Are we not all God’s children?
Would we not want to treat others as we would like to be treated?
Peace.
