Why I Miss The America Of September 12, 2001

“Did you hear?” a classmate said loudly in the front of the class. I couldn’t make out what was said next because I was in the back of the room, but I will never forget the commotion that followed, with talk of a plane hitting the World Trade Center making its way back to where I was seated in my high school algebra class. Of course, none of us at that moment realized that the world as we knew it had forever changed and that on that bright and beautiful sunny Tuesday morning, our country was about to endure its worst attack since Pearl Harbor.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw the images of the Twin Towers on fire after the second plane had hit, and the feeling of doom and gloom at the surreal scenes that were unfolding in New York and Washington that day. It was like watching an apocalyptic movie that couldn’t possibly be real. We sat, glued to the TV screens that were set up throughout the school that day.

I’ll never forget the fear we all felt when there was word that a fourth plane had been hijacked and was believed to be heading to Fort Detrick near our school, or the panic that set in on the face of my English teacher as she kept trying to call her daughter who lived and worked near the towers in Manhattan. The safety and security we all felt was gone and terror had taken their place.

As the smoke and dust of the collapsing towers filled the air, and President George Bush spoke from the oval office while quoting Psalm 23, it was clear that America was shaken, fearful and now at war. The tragedy of the thousands of lives lost that day is something that we as a country pledged never to forget, yet sadly, I believe that over 20 years later, we have indeed forgotten 9/11 and its lessons. We have forgotten not only the horrific events of the day but also the way our nation responded in the immediate aftermath of that day. Now, every year around the time of the anniversary of the attacks, I have a deep sadness in my heart, because the America of 2024 is far from the America of 9/12/01.

There was a swell of patriotism the likes of which I’ve never seen before or since. American flags were everywhere. Despite all our faults as a nation and our differences, we came together as one nation, under God. Republicans and Democrats sang “God Bless America” together on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, and our love for our country outweighed our political and partisan differences.

President Bush rallied the country with a bullhorn at Ground Zero with chants of “USA, USA, USA” in the background. We were united and resolved as a nation to face our enemy and our enemy wasn’t each other. It wasn’t the left or the right, it wasn’t the liberal or the conservative. The “enemy” was Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda.

There also was a spiritual awakening. Churches were packed, prayer services were held, and we were awakened to the reality of how fragile our lives really are. America’s symbols of power and prosperity had been attacked and it was a reminder to us all that our world can be flipped upside down in a moment, and all that we rely on for our strength and our security, apart from God, can fail us.

When we are face to face with our mortality, and with the realization of how little control we really have, we tend to seek God. The problem is, when normalcy returns and the sense of urgency that we all collectively felt fades, we also tend to easily forget God. By the grace of God, we have not had another terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11 since, but we also seem to have hit the snooze button spiritually since.

In the years since 9/11, our country has suffered from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, a pandemic and polarizing politics and yet alongside these events, church attendance continues to decline, Judeo-Christian values have steadily been eroding in our culture, and the largest growth of any religious group in America has been with those who claim no religious affiliation.

The many “earthquakes” we’ve experienced should get our attention to realize that God alone is our refuge and strength, God alone can be our security and safety, and God’s kingdom is the only one that is unshakable. The only hope for America is Jesus, not Kamala Harris or Donald Trump winning the White House. Lives being changed, hearts and minds being moved, and the church influencing our culture with the love and truth of Christ is the only remedy that can usher in true, long-lasting spiritual awakening and revival in our broken, divided and lost country.

As we prepare to remember and honor the victims of 9/11 and remember the tragic events of that day, let us also remember how our country came together; how we saw each other as friends and neighbors, not enemies; how we recognized our need for God; and how we resolved to be one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. My hope and prayer for our nation is that we can remember those things before it’s too late, before America fractures and becomes irrevocably broken. The choice is ours.

“Our nation has been attacked, buildings destroyed, lives lost. But now we have a choice: whether to implode and disintegrate emotionally and spiritually as a people and a nation; or to choose to become stronger through all this struggle, to rebuild on a solid foundation.”- Billy Graham, September 14, 2001

The Rev. Stephen Mitchell is the senior pastor of Trinity Bible Church in Severna Park. He also is the host of a regular podcast, “Real Christian Talk with Pastor Steve,” available on all podcast platforms.