Of Impiety and Blasphemy: Reflections on the Text of Remarks by President Biden at 9/11 Memorial Ceremony

 

Pix Credit: The WTC in More Innocent Times

Last year, on the anniversary of the attack by elements of what remains discursively rendered foreign on the institutions and physical manifestations of the Republic, I spoke about one of its greatest lingering effects--the effective abandonment of the great project of global convergence for the safety of protective membranes around the core of like minded social collectives (A Global Order of Protective Membranes--Brief Reflections on the 20th Anniversary of the 11 September 2001 Attacks). This year on the 21st anniversary of the tragedy that occurred on this day, I speak to impiety and blasphemy. 

This appears to be an era of blasphemy, of impious speech. It is an era of piety and impiety as discursive hammers directed toward the smashing of old orders in the service of whatever is built on its rubble. It is an age of phēmē, of utterances--of speaking one's truth, of declamations that by the force of their utterance displaces as it incarnates the utterance. It is an utterance at once wrong, but the power to become right. That power to blaspheme--to project one's personal truth outward, has been manifested in blood for a long time. And it has its object--to reverse the poles of impiety and piety. One builds new temples on the foundations of the old--displacing and obliterating what came before--dissipating its pieties to myth and its physical presence to legend.   Even in an irreligious world, the religious foundations of this impulse--ever so strong in human collectives--remain inescapable.

Today marks the anniversary of a transformative act of impiety--an act directed to the obliteration of the temples of the current ruling orthodoxies in favor of another; a blood sacrifice offered on the alters of a vision of a world in which the current is swept away  through an ecstatic act.  It announced a new world order--of contemporary Maenad, raving ones--in whose ecstatic rituals of blood the world would be torn to pieces to be made ready for a new order. remade.  And it has. In a strange twist of Stockholm Syndrome one might be forgiven for worrying that the Maenads are all around us now--and worry more that a faint echo of this ecstatic impulse toward a lusty blaspheming, to the tearing apart of a body politic may remain a ghostly reminder of the of that blaspheming, the tragedy of which we commemorate today. 

 It was with that in mind that one might approach in a suitably contemplative way the remarks of the President of the United States (Remarks by President Biden at 9/11 Memorial Ceremony) made to commemorate the 21anniversary of the events of 11 September 2001, events which extracted such a terrible price in blood and spirit and which then paid in blood, continues to be paid in spirit. One speaks here of the response to an impiety in terms of sacred obligations to those would sacrifice was a blasphemy to the Republic and its eternal verities ("never fail to meet the sacred obligation to you to properly prepare and equip those that we send into harm’s way and care for those and their families when they come home" Biden Speech supra).

One speaks here of retribution without end for the enormity of the abominations projected onto the body of the Republic ("It took 10 years to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden, but we did. And this summer, I authorized a successful strike on Zawahiri" Biden Speech supra). And one speaks of memory, of adding memory to the pantheon of the divine spirit of the Republic ("to never, ever, ever forget"). That divine memory requires its own temples which have been built, and its rituals which are being perfected ("We raised monuments and memorials to the citizens whose blood sacrificed on these grounds, and in Shanksville and Ground Zero, to keep touch of the memory — keep it bright for all the decades to come." Biden Speech supra).  

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And it requires ever more vigilance and protection around the ordering divinity of the Republic--"there’s nothing this nation cannot accomplish when we stand together and defend with all our hearts that which makes us unique in the world: our democracy." (Biden Speech supra). It is here that one ties the construction of the apex idea in the pantheon of ideas that constitute our Republic, with its protection not just against the impieties of foreigners, but also against the impious, the infidelities, of heretics within our political collect. The line between this speech and that made in Philadelphia on 1 September 2022  are unavoidable ("However, it is time for you not to slumber, but to attend to affairs, for you have strengthened your rival against yourself." Life in the Time of the Late Republic--Transcript of President Biden's 1 September 2022 Speech Delivered in Philadelphia). The national deities must be protected against blasphemy and impiety.  That impiety takes many forms--but in every case it must be paid in the blood of the impious.  This is a very very old reflex now reanimated in post-modern garb. 

The text of Mr. Biden's Speech appears below along with links to the text on the White House Website.

 

 

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Remarks by President Biden at 9/11 Memorial Ceremony

The Pentagon
Arlington, Virginia

9:49 A.M. EDT

Pix Credit here

THE PRESIDENT:  Secretary Austin, General Milley, to all the families and loved ones who still feel the ache of that missing piece of your soul, I’m honored to be here with you once more to share in this solemn rite of remembrance and to reflect on all that was lost in the fire and ash on that terrible September morning and all that we found in ourselves to respond.

Twenty-one years ago — twenty-one years, and still we kept our promise: Never Forget.  We’ll keep the memory of all those precious lives stolen from — from us: 2,977 — at Ground Zero in New York; in Shanksville, where my wife is speaking now — in Pennsylvania; 184 of them here at the Pentagon.

And I know, for all those of you who lost someone, 21 years is both a lifetime and no time at all.

It’s good to remember.  These memories help us heal, but they can also open up the hurt and take us back to that moment when the grief was so raw.

You think of everything — everything that they could have done if they had lived to just had a little more time: the experience you missed together; the dreams they never got to fulfill or realize. 

I remember a message sent to the American people from Queen Elizabeth.  It was on September 11.  Her ambassador read a prayer of service at St. Thomas Church in New York, where she poignantly reminded us, quote, “Grief is the price we pay for love.”

Grief is the price we pay for love.  Many of us have experienced that grief, and you’ve all experienced it.

And on this day, when the price feels so great, Jill and I are holding all of you close to our hearts.

Terror struck us on that brilliant blue morning.  The air filled with smoke, and then came the sirens and the stories — stories of those we lost, stories of incredible heroism from that terrible day.

The American story — the American story itself changed that day.  But what we did change — what we will not change, what we cannot change, never will, is the character of this nation that the terrorists thought they could wound.

And what is that character?  The character of sacrifice and love, of generosity and grace, of strength and resilience.

In the crucible of 9/11, in the days and months that followed, we saw what stuff America is made — Americans are made of.  Think of all of your loved ones, particularly those on that flight — ordinary citizens who said, “We will not let this stand,” who risked and lost their lives so even more people would not die.  

We saw it in the police officers and firefighters who stood on the pile at Ground Zero for months amid that twisted steel and broken concrete slabs, breathing the toxins and ash that would damage their health, refusing — refusing to stop the search through the destruction.  They never stopped and would not. 

We learned about the extraordinary courage and resolve, as I said, of the passengers on board Flight 93, who understood that they were living the open — they were there in the middle of the open shot of a new war, and who chose to fight back — not professionals — to si- — fight back, sacrificing themselves, refusing to let their plane be used as a weapon against even more innocents.  

And here at the Pentagon, which was both the scene of the horrific terrorist attack and the command center for our response to defend and protect the American people, so many heroes were made here.  So many of your loved ones were those heroes.

It began almost immediately, with civilians and service members leaping to action as the walls collapsed and the roof began to crumble.  They raced into the breach between the fourth and fifth corridors. 

The impact created by the fire raged at twice the heights of this building.  I remember.  I was a U.S. senator walking up to my office, and I could see the smoke and flames. 

They were heroes.  They went back into those soaring flames to try to save their teammates.

Firefighters battled the ba- — the blaze of jet fuel long into the night, pushing past the bounds of exhaustion. 

Pentagon staff showed up to work on September 12th more determined than ever to keep their country secure.

As I said when I was up on 9/11, we will follow them to the gates of hell to be sure that they’re not able to continue.

And millions of young men and women from across the nation responded to the 9/11 attacks with courage and resolve, signing up to defend our Constitution and joining the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.

And in the years since 9/11, hundreds of thousands of American troops have served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and so many other places around the world to deny terrorists the safe haven
and to protect the American people.

And to all our service members and their families, our veterans, our Gold Star families, all the survivors and caregivers and loved ones who have sacrificed so much for our nation: We owe you.  We owe you an incredible — an incredible debt, a debt that can never be repaid but will never fail to meet the sacred obligation to you to properly prepare and equip those that we send into harm’s way and care for those and their families when they come home — and to never, ever, ever forget.

Through all that has changed over the last 21 years, the enduring resolve of the American people to defend ourselves against those who seek us harm, and to deliver justice to those responsible for attacks against our people, has never once faltered.

It took 10 years to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden, but we did.  And this summer, I authorized a successful strike on Zawahiri, the man who bin Laden — was his deputy on 9/11 and was the leader of al Qaeda.

Because we will not rest.  We’ll never forget.  We’ll never give up.  And now, Zawahiri can never again threaten the American people.

And 20 years after Afghanistan is over but our commitment to preventing another attack on the United States is without end. 

Our intelligence and defense and counterterrorism professionals in the building behind me and across the government continue their vigilance against terrorist threats that has evolved and spread to new regions of the world.

We’ll continue to monitor and disrupt those terrorist activities wherever we find them, wherever they exist.  And we’ll never hesitate to do what’s necessary to defend the American people.

What was destroyed, we have repaired.  What was threatened, we fortified.  What was attacked — the indominable spirit — has never, ever wavered.

We raised monuments and memorials to the citizens whose blood sacrificed on these grounds, and in Shanksville and Ground Zero, to keep touch of the memory — keep it bright for all the decades to come.

When future generations come here to sit in the shade of the Maple trees that shelter the memorial and grown tall and strong with passing years, they will find the names of patriots.  They will feel the connection that will come to pass on September 11, 2001, and how our country was forever changed.

And I hope they will think about all those of — all those heroes that were more [made] in the hours and days and years that followed.  Ordinary Americans responding in extraordinary and unexpected ways.

I hope we’ll remember that in the midst of these dark days, we dug deep, we cared for each other, and we came together.

You know, we regained the light by reaching out to one another and finding something all too rare — a true sense of national unity.

To me, that’s the greatest lesson of September 11.  Not that we will never again face a setback, but that in a moment of great unity we also had to face down the worst impulses, fear, violence, recrimination directed against Muslim Americans, as well as Americans of Middle Eastern and South Asian heritage.

It’s that, for all our flaws and disagreements, in the push and pull of all that makes us human, there is a nation that cannot accomplish — there’s nothing this nation cannot accomplish when we stand together and defend with all our hearts that which makes us unique in the world: our democracy.

We’re not only a nation based on principles, but we are based on an idea unlike — we’re the most unique nation in the world.  An idea that everyone is created equal and should be treated equally throughout their lives. 

We don’t always live up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it.  That’s what makes us strong.  That’s what makes us who we are.  And that’s what those hijackers most hoped to destroy when they targeted our buildings and our people.

They failed.  No terrorist could touch the wellspring of American power.  And it falls to us to keep it safe on behalf of all those we lost 21 years ago, on behalf of all those who have given their whole souls to the cause of this nation every day since.

That’s a job for all of us.  It’s not enough to gather and remember each September 11th those we lost more than two decades ago.  Because on this day, it is not about the past, it’s about the future.

We have an obligation, a duty, a responsibility to defend, preserve, and protect our democracy, the very democracy that guarantees the rights and freedom that those terrorists on 9/11 sought to bury in the burning fire and smoke and ash.

And that takes a commitment on the part of all of us — dedication, hard work — every day.

For always remember: The American democracy depends on the habits of the heart of “We the People.”  That’s how our Constitution — “We the People.”  The habits of heart of “We the People.”

It’s not enough to stand up for democracy once a year or every now and then.  It’s something we have to do every single day.

So this is a day not only to remember but a day of renewal and resolve for each and every American, in our devotion to this country, to the principles it embodies, to our democracy.

That is who [what] we owe those who remember today.  That is what we owe one another.  And that is what we owe future generations of Americans to come.

I have no doubt we will do this.  We will meet this significant responsibility.  We’ll secure our democracy together as one America, the United States of America.  That’s who we are.  That’s who your loved ones were and why they gave so much.

Thank you.  May God bless you all.  And may God honor the members of the military we lost and all those we lost here on 9/11.  May God protect our troops.

10:04 A.M. EDT