Where are we heading ?

I think emotions run the world. Its either hate or love. We read tome after tome and write them imbued in tonnes of logic but at the end of the day I think its just emotion which rules. Or else how can you explain 9/11. Some one said emotions are logical. How can you say an incident which kills 3000 odd innocent people as logical!!!!!!!

The WTC attack is the biggest act of terrorism. The magnitude of the attack was enormous not just because it involved two 767’s crashing into the huge towers in NYC but for the dents it created in the minds of the people. Now thanks to the attack we live in constant fear which has severely affected the relationship of the Muslim world with the rest of the world. This has completely changed the way we go about our lives. The way we travel ( huge security measures), the way we talk, the way countries interact.

I have had the chance to visit New York City this summer and when I saw the site of the WTC attack it just saddened me immensely. The magnitude of the attack just hit me when I found the huge towers missing bang in the center of the crowded financial district. What happened on that fateful day is just inexplicable. Post the WTC attack there has been a void created not only in NYC but in the psyche of every person in the world.  A void which is never going to be filled. It’s like a vacuum which has been created, a vacuum of a very strong emotion, an emotion which sucked America and all the allies into the war of terrorism, a vacuum which has polarized the world, and a vacuum which has tarnished the image of Islam. And I don’t see anything filling up that void. What can bring about the reconciliation?

Instead of thinking about the task on hand and working towards an amicable solution, we are being burnt with our own fears. Else how can you explain the war on terrorism where the world has been sent on a wild goose chase and at the end of it only innocent people die. Terrorism is not something which is going to end by capturing OBL or eliminating some extremist groups. Terrorism is a thought. It has had its seeds sown due to a variety of reasons racism, religion, greed, suppression etc. But it was never allowed to grow disproportionately prior to the 9/11 attack. But 9/11 was the fuel on fire incident. It has just opened the flood gates for terrorism. The blasts in Bali, the Madrid train attack, London tube attacks, Mumbai attacks. Our emotional reaction to the 9/11 attack has just given wings to terrorists. They sensed we our scared and they are just gloating every time we get scared and it just gives them a high every time they see us scared.

But now 9 years after the attack, are we on the right track to restore that peace which was stolen from us? I think not. We are still acting in fear else how can you explain Pastor Terry’s Koran burning incident. How can we explain the Anti-Mosque rallies in USA against the ground zero mosque? USA is a democratic country and ideally there has to be no objections and on the other hand as any peaceful religion should understand that people’s sentiment has been hurt by the 9/11 attacks and they should make it as peaceful as possible till the healing takes place. But both the parties here don’t seem to be in a mood to budge.

Are we safer now post 9/11?  I would say Yes! Huge amounts of money which could have been used to fund the poor of the world is not being spent to beef up the security, to buy new arms and security devices. Yes we are secured now.  But are we happy? Well this will get you ambiguous answers, as the security which we possess right now is a trade off. A trade off with privacy (read: patriot act). A trade off with our happiness because its fear which caused us to up the security.

How are we supposed to gain our lost sense of security? That is left to the world’s leaders. Everybody has to bring about serious changes to the way their security system is run and that includes even the Middle East countries. Every nation has to be treated with dignity and mutual respect. Until then we are like the birds trapped in the Tribute in Lights, trapped in our own self glories, flying without direction. The outcome of which is only going to be exhaustion.

Photos :Boston.com