The anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has come to mean different things for different people.
For some, it’s a day to celebrate patriotism, fly flags and honor the heroism of fallen soldiers, police officers and firefighters. For others, the day and the resulting war on terrorism signify the eroding of civil liberties and what they see as increasing prejudice against Muslims.
Those polarized views were on display Sunday as people across the Chicago area rang bells, laid wreaths and said prayers for the victims of the terror attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania four years ago.
In La Grange, police officers, firefighters and paramedics from across the west and south suburbs gathered with their families for a short parade and service at St. Cletus Catholic Church. The annual service organized by the church for those who “serve, save and protect” drew about 700 people. Officials from each fire and police department rang a memorial bell at 11-second intervals to remember the dead.
Outside on the front lawn, church officials planted 2,126 American flags to represent the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since the war on terror began. On July 4, 2003, the parish had only 204 such flags on its lawn, Rev. Raymond Klees said.
“Our interpretation is to focus not exclusively on the fallen and those who have been deceased but to honor the patriots amongst us,” Klees said. “They’re going into harm’s way by virtue of their calling. We want to honor them, thank them and pray for them.”
Houses of worship in Chicago were invited to ring their bells, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played a free tribute concert in Millennium Park. A parade of sailboats and powerboats decorated with American flags and bunting was held along the south side of Navy Pier. Organizers said they wanted to keep the memory of the day and the death of the 2,973 people alive in people’s minds.
On that day, 2,749 people died at the World Trade Center when terrorists flew two jetliners into the towers. At the Pentagon, another 184 people were killed. And 40 people died in a field in Pennsylvania, where one of the four hijacked planes crashed.
Naperville’s commemoration gathered 300 people, including children in tie-dyed red, white and blue T-shirts, at the city’s Sept. 11 memorial site. The parents of Navy Cmdr. Dan Shanower, a Naperville native for whom the memorial is named, laid a wreath for their son. Shanower was working at his Pentagon desk when a hijacked jet crashed into the building.
“He taught us about the importance of leading a committed life,” his sister, Vicki Shanower Wike, said after the service, her voice cracking with emotion. “We remember not the horror of that day, but the ongoing support we’ve received since then.”
Andrew Seaton, the British consul general of Chicago, spoke at the Naperville service and drew parallels between the U.S. attacks and the London train bombings of July 7. Neither country has been deterred or frightened, he said after the service.
“The underlying basis of our partnership is the belief in the same things,” Seaton said. “When our values come under attack, we have to defend them.”
The mood was different at St. Sabina Catholic Church on Chicago’s South Side.
Rev. Michael Pfleger invited Kareem Irfan, former chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, to speak to his congregation about prejudice against Muslims and Arabs in the wake of Sept. 11.
“In the name of patriotism and the Patriot Act, there was a great rising of prejudice and bigotry against Muslims and Arabs,” Pfleger said. “We cannot allow that under the guise of patriotism.”
Irfan spoke about the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the denial of legal representation for those being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
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“We’ve seen a shameful erosion of civil rights and liberties,” he said, referring to the Patriot Act’s power to allow law enforcement to use such measures as secret arrests and unrestricted wiretaps to investigate people since Sept. 11. “There’s been a distressing violation of the privacy of organizations and individuals.”
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