A decade after 9/11, the intense pain and suffering the attacks caused are still abundantly obvious as images of grief stream in via coverage of the anniversary’s various memorial events. Despite bin Laden’s assassination, and the increasingly marginal relevance of al Qaeda, it seems that the wound those attacks opened up are still bleeding substantially.

Our forceful, violent reactions to 9/11, both at home and around the world, have only helped to prove what is a core principle of most anti-Western terrorist groups: that we, the United States, and especially those in power steering the ship of state, are a force to be feared rather than one to be welcomed.

Although the lives lost that day cannot in any way be trivialized, the most lasting damage done was not caused by any hijacked planes, but was self-inflicted.

Lashing out around the world with troop deployments, assassination campaigns, and continued support for cruel dictatorships, in addition to all the inevitable innocent civilian deaths and misery these policies cause, obviously creates resentment.

How can one be surprised by anti-U.S. sentiments and the reactionary cycle of violence that ensues?

To truly defeat al Qaeda and its kin, we must make every attempt to match the ideal of the “American Dream” (dignity, respect and self-determination, which is in reality a Global Dream) with a tangible reality: investments in education, ensuring decent levels of economic prosperity, protecting the civil and human rights of all, and fighting against bigotry and fear mongering.

An infinite number of bombs could never rid the Earth of all those scared enough to resort to violence against their perceived enemies. To persevere, the promise of individual rights enshrined in our Constitution must never be made frivolous. Without the fulfillment of the individual, a society cannot progress.

Edward Mostoller is a senior majoring in political science.