Today is 9/11: the 24th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon—the worst terrorist attack to occur on American soil.

This is the day when everything changed for Americans. Before 9/11, we never worried about terrorists attacking American institutions. We walked through airports with minimal security and never stopped to consider what might happen. Most of us had never heard of Al Queda or Osama bin Laden.

After 9/11, we started to think in terms of homeland security. We got used to taking off our shoes and not bringing liquids through airport screening. We watched America go to war against Iraq and Afghanistan, then finally catch bin Laden off guard in Pakistan years later.

After 9/11, we learned how much we owe to first responders—those crazy people who run INTO a collapsing building to try and save lives, instead of away from the danger. We learned how toxic the air in lower Manhattan was in those early days, and how much damage those rescues did to those brave men and women who tried to pull survivors from the ruins of the World Trade Center.

After 9/11, we began to understand that broad oceans on either side of our continent could not keep us safe from the terrorists who are bent on the destruction of Western democracies. We learned about groups like ISIS, Islamic Jihad, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah. and, eventually, Hamas and the Houthis.

We hardened our airports and public buildings, created new government agencies, developed new safety measures for public officials and private businesses, and said, “It’s OK. We’re safe now.”

Except, we’re not.

Yesterday, Charlie Kirk, a 31 year old conservative activist was assassinated while speaking before a college audience in Utah. Whether you agreed with his politics or not, this was a man who invited those with opposing views to discuss them in public. He didn’t deserve to die like this.

This year alone, we’ve seen violence against members of both political parties, Holocaust survivors, foreign embassy workers, school children, and plain ordinary people like you and me. Usually, the perpetrators are home-grown terrorists, supporting various political views.

The problem is when an incident like Charlie Kirk’s murder is reported, too many people jump into the mode of finding someone whose views are different than theirs to blame. We need to stop blaming and start trying to find ways to tone down the vindictive narrative, properly treat the mentally ill, and remove terrorists from our midst before they commit heinous acts.

We are shocked every time a terrible incident occurs, but doing the same thing time and time again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

The victims of terror, from 9/11/01 to 9/11/25 deserve better.

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