Good thing we didn’t have Facebook on 9/11

At 7:46 a.m. (Central time), Americans paused on Thursday to remember the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. From New York City to St. Joseph, ceremonies struck the right tone of somber reflection and "never-again" defiance.

The spirit of unity lasted until maybe 8:46 a.m. Certainly, by noon, we were back to our old habits of arguing, demonizing (fellow Americans, not terrorists) and providing alternate versions of reality.

Nearly a quarter-century has passed since 9/11, almost the same period of time as the period between America’s entry into World War I and Pearl Harbor. It was so long ago that this news organization actually put out a special, printed edition on the day the Twin Towers were struck.

Let that sink in.

You have to wonder, in the toxic environment of 2025, how people would respond to a similar test of the nation’s resilience. Would we rally around the flag and one another, as we did in 2001, or would we retreat to ideological corners and throw rhetorical bombs at Biden or Trump (pick your poison)? Would politicians use it as an opportunity to seek unity or to consolidate power?

One thing is certain. Many Americans would learn of the tragic events through social media. Some would be tempted to use platforms like Facebook to spout conspiracy theories, question reality or raise the political temperature in unhelpful ways. We got a reprieve on the actual 9/11 because Facebook wasn’t here yet.

It was hard to ignore the proximity of this week’s 9/11 anniversary with China’s military parade marking the end of World War II. The event in China featured autocrats who share a common hatred of the United States and all that it represents. These gray men in gray suits watched a parade of long-range missiles, carrier-killer missiles and autonomous weapons on the streets of Beijing.

What those weapons could one day be used for, and how the United States allowed its main adversary to close the gap, should be a bigger story right now than the Cracker Barrel logo or Sydney Sweeney’s jeans.

It should be something that unites Americans and gives a common sense of purpose. That’s what happened when Pearl Harbor was attacked and Sputnik was launched. It’s what happened after a bolt-out-of-the-blue attack 24 years ago.

The question we should be asking is how our fractured society would respond to something on the scale of 9/11. Let’s hope we never have to find out.