9/11 Cross

There is a controversy brewing in New York City and across the United States about the inclusion in a new 9/11 museum of a piece of wreckage from one of the Twin Towers that happens to be shaped like a cross.

The organization "American Atheists" has sued to have this item not included in the museum on the basis that it is a violation of the American rules regarding separation of church and state. I agree with the American Atheists press release which stated:

The cross has become a Christian icon. It has been blessed by so-called holy men a few times, and presented as a reminder that God, in his infinite power of goodness, who couldn’t be bothered to stop the Muslim terrorists, or stop the fire, or hold up the buildings to stop 3000 people from being crushed, cared enough to bestow upon us some rubble that resembles a cross. Ridiculous.

If people were able to appreciate the irony involved here, then I'd almost be in favor of the inclusion of this "cross" if only for that reason. If I were a Christian and believed that God let that happen, and his only physical intervention was to make sure that this piece of wreckage survived the explosion to remind people of him, like some pathetic bumper sticker, it might be enough to make me stop believing that such an apathetic being existed.

It has been ten years since that event and I still remember the day very vividly. Anyone who was old enough at the time to understand the profundity of what was happening remembers it as vividly as I do. One can only imagine how much more vividly people who were directly involved remember it. Rather than watching it on tv as I did, many stood knee deep in, and also breathed in dust from those collapsed buildings.

My most vivid memory of that day was the horror of watching fall from 80 or more storeys rather than burn alive inside the towers. I remember how surreal it all seemed at the time, how something so horrible couldn't possibly be really happening.

People who want the cross included are aghast and cannot understand why even atheists would want to prevent what they characterize as a symbol of hope from being included in this museum. Many of these same people, I would argue, had no trouble finding fault with the idea of building a mosque only a couple of blocks from ground zero.  They were offended that an institution of the same religion whose adherents flew those planes would be built under what would be the shadow of the World Trade Centre were it still standing today.

Although it was muslims flying the planes, there were also muslim victims in the buildings. There were Jews in the buildings and atheists and agnostics too. The only reason that it was a Christian symbol in the wreckage is because a cross is a simpler shape than a star of David or a crescent moon with a star in it.

If there is any perspective to be taken from this tragedy it should be how dangerous it is to believe things without evidence. It was muslims on September 11, 2001, but it has been Christians who have committed attrocities in the past and will probably do so again. Rather than put up this religious symbol or that religious symbol it would be preferable to have a dialogue as a society about how much better the world could be if we could get past these tribal superstitions and work together, all of us, towards a better future.

We have real issues in the world. We need to work on renewable energy, the environment, food sustainability, water management and economic issues. The more time we are distracted by playing "My God can beat up your God" the less time we'll have to fix some of our problems before they are beyond fixing.