Contact DHS

Division of Aging and
Adult Services
PO Box 1437
Slot 1412
Little Rock AR 72203

By Herb Sanderson, Director
Division of Aging & Adult Services

This column appears in the October 2001 edition of Aging Arkansas,
a publication of the Arkansas Aging Foundation and the
DHS Division of Aging and Adult Services

“Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout history, it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example. But inevitably they fail, either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists themselves came to realize that free men cannot be frightened by threats, and that aggression would meet its own response.” President John F. Kennedy delivered these words during a New York speech in September of 1961.

The Sunday School class I attended on September 16, 2001 was a larger than normal. The planned lesson was scrapped and discussion centered on the horrific acts of terrorism experienced four days earlier. No one personally knew anyone who was killed or injured in New York or Washington, but all were effected. People were stunned. They were hurt and angry. They were somber and sad. Yet there was more energy than usual. Everyone had something to say or a question to ask.

Many were looking for a way to respond, a way to help. Just as thousands rushed to the Twin Towers to help in the rescue effort and just as thousands lined up in New York to give blood, Americans want to do something to fight back, to defeat terrorism.

President Bush eloquently spoke to the nation about the tragedy: "On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country. Americans have known wars, but for the past 136 years they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941. Americans have known the casualties of war, but not at the center of a great city on a peaceful morning. Americans have known surprise attacks, but never before on thousands of civilians.

“All of this was brought upon us in a single day, and night fell on a different world, a world where freedom itself is under attack…Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment.

“Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom, the great achievement of our time and the great hope of every time, now depends on us.

“Our nation, this generation, will lift the dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.”

Our nation's leaders, military and law enforcement officers will do their role and we will support them. But, there is more we can do.

Each of us individually can play a role in fighting terrorism. “The point of terrorism,” according to Robert Cringely, “is to leverage the efforts of a small group in an attempt to modify the behavior of a larger group. The most important reaction to terrorism that a free society can show is not to give in to it.” Cringely is a former reporter who worked in Northern Ireland and the Middle East.

How can we individually fight terrorism? Simply do what we do the best we can. Whether one is a fire fighter, secretary, in-home care worker, salesclerk, or minister, if each of us does what we do best, then it will be a blow to terrorism. Our nation will function; it will move forward. It will not be coerced. It will not give in.

I don't say this in a Pollyanna way. This is not to say we do not mourn. We do each at our own pace and in our own way. That is not to say we bury our feelings. Numbness, despair, grief reactions to loss, flashbacks, nightmares and sadness are normal reactions to an abnormal event.

Research has shown that deliberate violence creates longer-lasting mental health effects than natural disasters or accidents. Research has also shown the re-establishment of meaningful patterns of interactions in the community may facilitate a reconstruction of a sense of meaning and purpose.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, even as he led New York through the crisis, said he would attend a wedding and look for joy there in the symbols of a hopeful future. He told the New York Times, "You have to focus on the good things in life, and you have to go on. You have to go and participate in good things."

Yes, we are more vigilant, more wary. But we go to church, soccer games, birthday parties. We go to work and do what we do best. Hopefully, with more compassion and caring after witnessing the worst and best of human behavior. And in doing so, we each do our part to defeat terrorism.