Millions and millions of people watched as misguided religious zealots few planes into buildings eleven years ago today. We all lost something that day, whether we were friend or enemy, in or outside of the United States. Tragedies like this, caused by malevolent hatred, have wracked the world since humans began throwing rocks at each other in caves. You’d think we were better than this.
The legacy of 9/11 lives on. Memories linger. And, old feelings get stirred up by the thoughts of who and what we lost. We still have political and religious zealots stirring enmity in the name of their deities. We still have people who hate for reasons only they know. Are we really better than the cave men throwing rocks? Think about it. Remember what was done. If you live in a country where politicians whip up hatred of others to get your vote, then don’t vote for them. We don’t need that kind of unreasonable thinking.
The 9/11 violence is emblematic of unreasoning hate.
We can do better.
nterplanetary Memorial to Victims of Sept. 11, 2001. The piece of metal with the American flag on it in this image of a NASA rover on Mars is made of aluminum recovered from the site of the World Trade Center towers in the weeks after their destruction. The piece serves as a cable guard for the rock abrasion tool on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit as well as a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. An identical piece is on the twin rover, Opportunity. The rock abrasion tools were built by Honeybee Robotics in lower Manhattan, less than a mile from the site. This image comes from the panoramic camera on Spirit and was taken on Feb. 2, 2004, the 30th Martian day, or sol, of Spirit's work on Mars. Both Spirit and Opportunity completed their prime missions in April 2004 and began years of additional work in extended missions. Both rovers have made important discoveries about wet environments on ancient Mars that may have been favorable for supporting microbial life. Spirit ended communications in March 2010. Opportunity is still active, and researchers plan to use its rock abrasion tool on selected targets around a large crater that the rover reached last month. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University
