Try to remember–who can forget?
It is difficult, in the days following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, to write an editorial that has nothing to do with September 11. I originally planned to write a piece about the dubious nature of the tax-funded new soccer stadium and the Transrapid, the fast train for which technology-crazed politicians feel it is necessary to spend four billion marks so that air travelers can line up to go through security checkpoints ten minutes earlier. However, these themes seem somehow banal and unimportant in the face of the suffering and horror that thousands of people and their families and friends experience, body and soul, on September 11.For Münchner, September 5, 1972 has long been recognized as the day the terrorism began. On that fateful day, the Palastinian organization, “Black September,” carried out an assault on the Israeli team at their quarters in the Olympic village—and, with the murders, relieved Munich of the light-hearted spirit of the ’72 Games.
Since then, not only has technology made a quantum leap—and it is even more damaging, as September 11 revealed—but so has terrrorism. From the Olympic village massacre to the suicide missions of the Intifada to the cold-blooded execution of thousands in New York City’s trademark twin towers, terrorism has made staggering strides—ones that, until September 11, were far beyond our wildest imaginations.
It is only now that we are painfully reminded that, even with our military might, we are powerless against those who have complete disregard for their fellow man, having replaced rationality and tolerance with religious fanaticism and righteousness. All threatening gestures and campaigns made by the military fizzle out because these people find their own deaths to be an acceptable price to pay for a successful mission.
Because the behavior of terrorists does not fit into our system of values, many of us have repressed thoughts of the countless consequences that can result from terrorist thinking. We see ourselves as representatives of the civilized world, yet religious fanaticism and the zeal to be all-powerful have formed an unholy alliance with “civilized” politics: we need only to be reminded of the Crusades, the Inquisition or the never-ending terror in Northern Ireland. It should be clear to all religious fundamentalists that marriages of this kind are never blessed. The “Holy War” fought by medieval Christian crusaders and the Jihad of radical Islam are equal in their barbarity.
The centuries-old spiral of violence and retribution and the decline of enlightened civilization will be staved off, not by sabers or cruise missiles, but through the extrication of religion from politics. Christianity has, with a few exceptions, already gone this route. Militant Islamists and Zionists are unfortunately still far from it. It is, however, comforting to hear that several noteworthy theologians have spoken out in favor of secularization. This would certainly be supported by most Muslims and Jews.
Since September 11, sadness and consternation hang over Munich’s public and private life like a muted bell. We feel a deep sympathy for our American friends and the need to comfort and help them. Spontaneous memorial gatherings at Marienplatz and Odeonsplatz, church services at Frauenkirche, the peace banner hanging near the U.S. Consulate and the long lines of city residents waiting to sign the condolence books there all bear witness to Munich’s dismay. The sea of flowers at the foot of the piece of the Berlin wall at the Consulate speaks— louder than words —of how good friends come together in times of crisis. But the bell is also muted by our nagging fear of the future—the attacks were not only against our friends, but, symbolically, were meant for all of us, too.
I, for one, hope that it does not come to a reckless, military-driven, revenge-seeking crusade. I am aware of, and relieved by, the fact that there is a big difference between Bush’s “regular-guy-speak”—“smoke ’em out, git ’em runnin’”—and what many prudent Americans believe: that a military “crusade,” as the president put it, will never reach evil at its roots. In fact, I admire the American sense of justice. I hope that good sense keeps more innocent people from suffering.
