I remember watching on telly, the fall of the Berlin wall, I knew there and then that this was a significant event. I remember hearing about the release of Nelson Mandela and again I knew there and then that this was a significant event and I remember watching the news of the attack on the World Trade Centres in New York and once again I knew there and then that this was a significant event.
Knowing that these events were significant is the easy part; coming to terms with the extent of the significance of an event like these, is a whole different ball game; now throw in the question of cause…
Over this past weekend I watched two very different types of programmes; the Rugby World Cup and the coverage of the 10th anniversary of 9|11 and I can tell you that both were upsetting. In regard to the rugby, I have no comment (yet) as I will reserve my opinion for another day, but in regard to 9|11, the extensive coverage transported me back 10 years to memories of that faithful day when all around me sat my colleagues at their desks in the office where I worked, each one of them in shock at the tragedy unfolding on our computer screens.
The sheer magnitude of the event presented itself to one and all, apart from our manager who was getting increasingly annoyed at us for not working!
This event playing out on our computer screens was to us mere employees more important than the drawings we were supposed to be doing but our manager held a very different view “it’s not like its happening in Dublin”, “can we get back to work!”
He was right of course, this attack was thousands of miles away from where we sat, there was very little chance if any existed at all of it being directly related to us and work had to be done. I have thought about his reaction many times since 9|11 and each time I do, I end up both annoyed at him for his uncaring attitude towards the event and sad for him for having this attitude in the first place.
What pressure must he have been under to establish a thought process within him which dismissed the 9|11 event as a world defining moment capable of affecting every person on the planet to nothing more than a distraction from the days work. Was this pressure to work put upon him by others or was it his own need to deliver work no matter what was going on at that time. Was his response correct or was it uncaring. In truth, I believe that he was under pressure from others to deliver and as such, he passed on this pressure to the worker ants. There was no room for caring in this model of business he practiced as caring did not deliver profits, in fact, caring cost money.
“That’s it, this means war!” was a comment one of my colleagues repeated time and time again over the course of the afternoon, “The yanks won’t take that lying down – someone’s going to die” he continued. This reaction to the event was very human, very ordinary in fact but it was also very honest and believable. Of course the great nation of America was going to war, that was beyond doubt but with who? That was the real question. We speculated to no avail but agreed, “someone’s going to die” you don’t hit the Yanks and get away with it!
The media, which were dealing with the biggest story of this generation, of course quickly relayed the call for war. America had been attacked “without cause” and America would react to this by attacking those who where behind the attackers. They told the world that it had a choice, stand by our side or be in our sights. The effect of this attack was about to be felt throughout the entire world in a fashion unseen before now. Throughout history, the human race has witnessed the effects of traditional wars and we have looked to place the finger of blame on a sole figurehead. We have names in our heads of men who have caused the deaths of millions and we have taken sides against these men if an effort to bring to an end the suffering and death of the innocent.
This event was however very different; there was no one nation attacking another, no military equipment been deployed against the nation under attack. This was the action of a small number of men using the equipment of everyday society to attack the civilians of a nation, which the attackers held responsible for causing the attack in the name of retaliation.
On that beautiful morning in New York, the innocent numbering in there thousands were murdered and in the hearts, minds and souls of every American was a number of questions; who has done this? Where do they live? How long will it be until they are dead?
Each question was a reasonable and understandable reaction to the attack, each question was caused by an event that was in the minds of their attackers a reaction to prior events carried out in the names of the citizens and as such it was more than just a reasonable cause, it was a holy one…
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