US, South America share Sept. 11

In the wake of the eighth anniversary of Sept. 11, the familiar flurry of traditional media literature has hit the newsstands.

Generally speaking, the scope and diversity of Sept. 11 articles are confined to a worthwhile (but often narrow) remembrance of this fateful day in our nation’s history.

We recall the exploits of our fallen citizens, we appreciate the demonstrations of human solidarity, and on a more cynical note, some of us cite the subsequent religious and racial intolerance that has plagued the American people and their government in the aftermath of that day. 

However, the most popular media in the United States remains timid, if not altogether silent, on what many Latin Americans refer to as “the other Sept. 11.”

On Sept. 11, 1973, Chilean President Salvador Allende was killed in a military coup, a coup that received significant support and backing from the U.S. and the C.I.A.

Augusto Pinochet consolidated power in the wake of Allende’s death and inaugurated a dictatorship that over the next 17 years took the lives of more than 3,000 Chileans for political reasons.

To many on the left side of the political spectrum, Allende symbolized a new hope for Latin American socialism, a new leader whose legitimacy was confirmed through his “democratic route to socialism,” a leader whose promise to Chile of economic, political and social reform was thwarted by the self-interest of the U.S.

However, to those on the right, Allende was a rogue Latin American communist vying to lure the support of the U.S.S.R. and aspiring to achieve an alternative mode of development in opposition to key U.S. interests. (They also credit the economic progress of Chile to the rule of Augusto Pinochet.)

Regardless of one’s political persuasion, the fact remains the same: Sept. 11, 1973, was a monumental event for the people of Chile, and for many Latin Americans.  
As we North Americans take time to reflect on our own Sept. 11, it would also be valuable to remember Sept. 11 of 1973. 

It would serve our best interests to understand the inter-connectedness that all Americans share, be it Americans from the United States, Canada, Venezuela, or Chile, in the face of great political change, human tragedy or loss of life. 

As our world encounters an endless list of societal ills and problems that require global solutions (take climate change for instance) we must acknowledge that the first steps toward solutions will require mutual cooperation and understanding: in short, a strengthened sense of internationalism, a strengthened sense of human solidarity and compassion for the others of America, the America that encompasses both the northern and southern continents.

By recalling both Sept. 11, of 2001 and Sept. 11, 1973, we can help to understand both the hopes and the tragedies that bind us together and forever as Americans of this grand continent.