In times of crisis like these, there are those who will dissent from the mainstream. On the one hand, you have those who are urging restraint in the conduct of the war, and pacifists who feel that war is unthinkable and wrong (I’m not referring to those few “pacifists” who merely want to feel morally superior or chic by opposing everything the United States does). There is nothing wrong with this sort of dissent when carried out in a sensitive manner, as it adds to the tapestry of debate. On the other hand, there’s the religious right, who have never added anything of much consequence.
Mr. Jerry Falwell (I, from this point on, refuse to give him the respect accorded by the title “reverend”), on September 13, not two days after the attacks, went on the religious talk show “The 700 Club” and spoke on the tragedy. Instead of letting the dust settle and perhaps finding some words of healing that any real cleric worth the title would have given, he said the following: “What we saw on Tuesday, as terrible as it is, could be minuscule if, in fact, God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve … The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way — all of them who have tried to secularize America — I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen’” (emphasis added).

Let us juxtapose this with a few passages from a recent statement by Osama bin Laden: “There is America, hit by God in one of its softest spots. …The least that can be said about these people is that they are debauched. … May God show them His wrath and give them what they deserve. … These events have divided the world into two sides: the side of the believer and the side of the infidel, may God keep you away from them. … When God blessed one of the groups of Islam … they destroyed America. … And (Americans) want to wag their tail at God.”
“If in fact God continues to lift the curtain and … give us probably what we deserve,” indeed. Mr. Falwell, you stated parts of the terrorists’ case for them. Quite simply, you have aided and abetted the enemy. Were this a more unenlightened age, you would be on trial for treason and sedition — quite possibly fighting for your life. Feel lucky that the only outcome is the loss of any shred of credibility.
Mr. Falwell, you and people like you have said that the attacks were our fault because God decided to lift his protection of this nation for harboring people who have beliefs and/or lifestyles you find abhorrent. How dare you use this tragedy to push your virulent point of view and try to justify the murder of 6,000 people?
Mr. Falwell, before Sept. 13, I found you to be a distasteful, arrogant buffoon. Today, I find you beneath contempt. And no partial apologies you care to make to the nation should be accepted, much less heard. The best thing you could do in the wake of your statements, Mr. Falwell, is to shut up.