“Reality TV – September 11, 2001”


An unfortunate media fad (“fad” being defined as something popular well beyond its merits, and will soon disappear leaving us to wonder, “What were we thinking?”) involves these so-called “reality TV” shows – you know, the ones that force some guys and some beautiful young women to cavort scantily clad on an island, or the ones where some guys and some beautiful young women are forced to cavort scantily clad on a cruise ship, or the one that forces some guys and some beautiful young women to cavort in a New England town to find a murderer, or the ones that force – wait, am I sensing a theme here?  Whose “reality” is this? 

On the morning of September 11th, 2001, we were shown another type of “reality TV,” one which shows us a reality that, while it sounds like something out of a Tom Clancy novel or Bruce Willis film, has become our reality and is definitely not a fiction.  Who among us didn’t see the pictures of the planes slicing into the World Trade Center Towers and not think that this must be some kind of movie special effects?  This just doesn’t seem real… but it is. 

As story after story comes out from the hundreds of thousands of those affected by the over 6,300 deaths and injuries of almost as many more, we realize that the devastation done to the planes and buildings in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington DC is nothing compared to the damage done to the families, hearts and spirit of so, so many.  The events of 9/11/2001 have literally changed the way we in America look at the world and ourselves. Interestingly, some in other countries are saying, “Now you understand what we have been experiencing” – albeit on a much larger scale. 

Do we understand?  Really?  I’m afraid that the terrible reality of it all is beginning to invade our collective consciousness.  We’ve been reading/hearing a new term lately in the media: Homeland Defense.  I understand that this has been around for a while, but I’ve never heard it before.  What it seems to mean is that there will be absolutely incredible increases in spending for military buildup, covert operations, national law enforcement, and – of course – airline security.  Our lives will change. 

Our worldview must change as well.  The general belief in our own security, safety and invulnerability as a nation has been shaken to the core.  In the not-too-distant past we have been, off-and-on, worried about a rogue state or terrorist faction launching missiles into our country and damaging one of our cities – but we are confronted with the profoundly simple reality that we ourselves are flying thousands of “missiles” (airliners) around our own skies, literally free for the taking – which doesn’t seem to have been all that hard to do. Except for the nuclear bombs dropped in Japan at the end of WWII, there has NEVER been a greater loss of life in a single day in an act of war. 

And our economy – arguably the greatest in the world – has been thrown into a genuine and frightening tailspin, being massively impacted in virtually every sector with effects that touch every person in some way.  We are hearing daily of truly massive lay-offs, companies suddenly merging or going into bankruptcy, and consumer and corporate spending plans being altered significantly.  As the effects of these actions begin rippling through our economy and society, we will each be affected in a significant and unpleasant way.  It will happen. 

Eighteen people did all this, dying happily in the truly twisted belief that they were serving God.  Fundamentalists in any faith – Muslim, Judaism, Christianity – are frightening people who have lost their humanity in an attempt to achieve the divine.  They always fail. Jesus showed us in the incarnation -- his becoming human -- that the divine and human must be connnected or faith is meaningless. That is where our hope really lies – God valuing humans so much that he became fully human – and then sacrificing himself in order to save us.  As we pattern our lives after Jesus, working to save and heal others, we become more, not less, fully human, and our understanding and value of human life greatly increases. 
 

Speaking as a citizen of the world, I hope and dare believe that there will come out of this some kind of international standard precisely identifying terrorism, as well as declaring all who engage in or support such acts as criminals who need to be removed from society on a world-wide basis.  Each country needs to take ownership for this.  Until this happens on a worldwide scale, terrorists present a nearly invisible moving target, able to strike at will. The harder we try to block the actions of terrorists, the more inventive they will become.  Can other nations be coerced into this, threatened into siding with us?  Probably not.  We risk being accused of a kind of reverse terrorism against others, and the cycle of hatred continues. 

Speaking as a Christian, I can’t help but be greatly concerned by the increasingly strident talk of war.  We Christians are, after all, a people of peace and need to act as such, especially when we’re tempted to retaliate.  It is in our re-born nature to save, but also to protect.  Are there options other than war when we are angry?  I really think so! 

What if, instead of threatening those who harbor terrorists with obliteration (thereby furthering the endless cycle of violence and hatred), we offer them economic development and a true partnership in a world struggling to be free of anarchists and terrorists in exchange for policing their own country of these insane, inhuman terrorists?  I’m sure that it would be cheaper than waging war (in dollars, economic damage and loss of life), and it gets at what causes terrorist groups to arise anyway: poverty, starvation, oppression and fear, resulting in the people of some of these countries harboring terrorists becoming easy targets for the would-be fascists of the world grabbing their hearts and focusing their resentment on others (the US especially) for their misery.  Hitler was a master at this, at capitalizing on the discontent of the people, blaming someone else for their troubles (the Jews, then the rest of the world), and making them do literally anything to accomplish his goals.  Working for real peace in other countries would certainly change the view of these people about us as a nation as well. 

Speaking as a pastor, I am concerned for the hearts and souls of those in my flock.  I sense a real escalation of anxiety about personal issues, an increased strain on relationships, a desire to retaliate against someone for what was done, and a suspicion of anyone resembling those who are known to have attacked our country and killed so many.  We should not allow the evil in the world to change us.  We should not allow the terrorists to force us to live in their world. 

Find ways to bring peace.  Cherish all around you.  Make the most of the time you have.  Get rid of the garbage in your life that damages and controls you. Get rid of the nonsense, the trivial, the wastes of time and energy.  Work to redeem relationships and find the best in people.  Love, forgive, heal. 

This must be our reality, and in Christ we are free to live in that reality. 

In Jesus’ love, 

Pastor Larry Becker
Sr. Pastor
Trinity Lutheran Church,
Hawthorne, CA