Commentary

Twenty-two years ago, our nation fell prey to a terrorist attack more deadly than anything experienced since Pearl Harbor. In the weeks and months leading up to that fateful day, the United States found itself more vulnerable to an assault than at almost any other time in history—fast asleep to countless national security alerts, but wide awake to the spectacle of trivial politics and division.

The United States was too enthralled by the aftermath of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Too deaf to anxious calls for more border security. Too captivated by the impeachment trials of President Bill Clinton. Too distracted to take heed of the growing terror watchlist.

We were too divided over the historic presidential election results of 2000 and the Supreme Court’s affirmation of Republican President George W. Bush. Too alarmed by doomsday prophecies about “Y2K” and the judgment day that awaited us as we turned the millennium.

When asked, many Americans confirmed that their political party retaining power outweighed the importance of our democracy’s survival. No longer fazed by the terrorist bombing waged on the World Trade Center just seven years prior in 1993, the United States grew deaf to the more-recent terrors waged in foreign nations, and woefully unconcerned with warnings about serious imminent threats against our nation.

On Sept. 10, 2001, the curtain would fall on the saga. The following morning would bring a terrorist onslaught that pummeled the World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon, and claimed the lives of more than 3,000 innocent men, women, and children.

In an instant, our world had changed. We were shaken to our core, and the spotlight turned to issues that far outweighed our trivial political differences: the war on terror, national security, our nation’s collective response to crisis, and our capacity to reunite.

Twenty-two years later, we find ourselves once again magnifying insignificant political matters and diminishing issues of national security. Once again, we appear to be blinded by the lights of political theater. Captivated by the drama of two changing political parties and landscapes. Moved by the award-winning performances of elected leaders and candidates who are willing to say just about anything to win our votes. Hallowed by our nation’s internal bickering and political differences.

All the while, our nation stands highly vulnerable to an attack or crisis as we engage a national mood reminiscent of Sept. 10, 2001.

Consider the evidence. An alarming 170 individuals are on the United States’ top terror watchlist—known terrorists who’ve entered our borders within the past year. In spite of numerous calls for more border security to thwart the growing number of terrorists entering our borders, some on the left continue to deem these cries nothing more than the rhetoric of anti-immigrant communities and fascists.

Beyond this, FBI chief Christopher Wray recently warned us that since Oct. 7, 2023, the number of national security alerts has gone up “like a Christmas tree.” In spite of that warning, we continue to be fixated on vitriolic politics ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

In spite of the harrowing number of fentanyl overdoses, we continue to disregard the perils of fentanyl, which is killing our nation’s youth at a rate unheard of.

In spite of the recent attacks perpetrated by Hamas that claimed the lives of about 1,200 Israelis, our country is divided over the question of whether to stand with or abandon our longtime ally Israel. Tensions arising from Israel’s war in Gaza have given us little time to reflect on that dilemma. Those tensions have sparked new conflict on one of the world’s main trade routes, the Red Sea.

In response to attacks on commercial trade vessels by the Houthis—an Iranian-backed group of rebels who have long fought Yemen’s government for control—our nation and the UK launched strikes against the group on Jan. 11, 2024, to effectively reopen the trade route. The following day, we received a stern warning from Iranian-backed Houthi military groups in response to the strikes. With that warning came a vow to retaliate against our nation for the airstrikes.

Beyond present foreign conflicts, many of us continue to look the other way while a former U.S. president and leading 2024 presidential candidate is charged with treason (a crime punishable by death) and 43 other crimes on the eve of his presidential bid.

Like in 2001, the national mood today is marked by unparalleled political division, a culture with fewer patriots and more critics, and a nation far more pessimistic about its government than ever before. The mood is illustrated by Congress’s inability to pass a simple budget without the threat of a government shutdown—shutdowns that have become more and more routine over the past decade.

The feeling is captured by a gradual complacency with our elected leaders being mired in scandal and corruption. The sentiment is evident in our collective indifference to weaponized federal agencies or an unprecedented border crisis. More and more, we collectively accept that our nation no longer commands the kind of respect it once held on a national or global scale. Likewise, many of us have accepted that the world may be on the brink of what many are calling a third world war.

Also, like in 2001, to most Americans, the survival of democracy itself isn’t as important as their political party remaining in power today. Just before the 2022 midterm elections, while 71 percent of Americans agreed that our democracy faced real threats, only 7 percent agreed this was the biggest problem facing the country. That means that 93 percent of Americans feel protecting our democracy from threats isn’t the No. 1 issue on the table.

The last time we engaged a similar mood, an act of war on civilians was the unnerving alarm with which our nation was awakened from its slumber. An alarm that fractured us but ultimately strengthened us as a nation.

As President George Bush famously stated in the aftermath of the attacks, “The terrorists may have shattered steel, but they cannot shatter the resolve of the American people.”

Indeed, it was through horror, pain, and indescribable grief that we once again found our nation’s resilient spirit. A spirit most transparent in times of indescribable fear, hardship, and challenge. A spirit that shines brightest in moments of darkness and uncertainty. Together, we answered the call to unite and combat the forces of evil.

The immediate aftermath reproduced values not seen in decades—among them, a greater focus on time spent with family, higher church attendance, and increased expressions of patriotism, such as flying the U.S. flag.

One thing is certain. We’re most vulnerable when we don’t take seriously the greatest threats to our nation and instead amplify other more-trivial issues. That fateful day, Sept. 11, 2001, strengthened us because it reminded us of the single most important objective of our nation—preserving our democracy. The goal can’t be achieved with our nation’s leaders constantly debating who is right, but rather urging the question of what is right.

As a nation, we must be ever vigilant, watchful, and sensitive to each alarm. Together, we must take action to address the real threats to our society and culture. History tells us that we can no longer afford to be captive to spectacle. Instead, we must look beyond trivial political theatrics and interests. Turning our focus to more imminent threats that affect us all, we can uphold the sanctity of our nation’s most important possession: the survival of our democracy.