(Blog) 9/11 - Ep. 975 - September 11, 2026

9/11, 25 Years Later: What America Has Learned

For those who remember September 11, 2001, the day is tied to a place, a television screen, and the moment confusion turned into fear. 9/11 killed nearly 3,000 people, launched a 20-year war campaign, and changed how Americans viewed terrorism, air travel, and national security.

Jeff Rowland and Sir Alan Smith look back on the attacks, the people who died, and the questions they believe America still hasn't answered. Their discussion also turns to national division, education, political extremism, the church, and their call for revival.

Remembering the Morning of September 11

When the second plane made the attack clear

Jeff Rowland remembers standing in his living room, watching television as news showed the first plane striking the World Trade Center. At first, he couldn't tell what had happened or why.

Then the second plane hit the towers. For Rowland, that second impact removed any doubt about what the country was facing.

"Then when the second one hit, you pretty well knew we were under attack."

Both hosts remember where they were and what they felt that day. The events unfolded with such force that, 25 years later, they still feel close. Smith said it can seem as though 9/11 happened only six months ago because of how devastating it was.

A different kind of historical memory

Smith and Rowland compare their memory of 9/11 with Pearl Harbor. Neither host was alive when Pearl Harbor was attacked, so they learned about it through history. However, they personally lived through 9/11.

That distinction matters to them because many Americans younger than 30 were either very young in 2001 or had not yet been born. They can learn the facts of 9/11, but the hosts believe they may not fully grasp the fear, uncertainty, and changes that followed the attacks.

The concern isn't only whether people know the date. It is whether they understand what it meant when commercial airplanes were turned into weapons against American targets.

The Human Cost of the Attacks

Nearly 3,000 people were killed

The hosts pause to remember those who died at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, and Smith and Rowland also point to the continuing effects on families, military members, first responders, and people who were present at or near Ground Zero.

Their discussion recognizes that the loss did not end when the towers fell. Many more people have died since then after exposure at Ground Zero, and families continue to live with grief and the consequences of that morning.

The attacks also took the United States into what the hosts describe as a 20-year war campaign.

The courage in Shanksville

Rowland and Smith also remember the plane that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. They describe the passengers' actions as brave resistance that prevented the aircraft from reaching its intended target.

They recall a belief that the plane may have been headed toward the White House, though they present that as their understanding of the event. For them, the crash in Pennsylvania remains part of the larger story of loss, sacrifice, and courage on September 11.

How 9/11 Changed What America Expected

A threat few people imagined

Before 9/11, the hosts believe few Americans imagined that terrorists could enter the country, hijack commercial aircraft, and use those planes as weapons. The attacks changed what people considered possible.

In their view, the day forced Americans to confront several realities:

• Commercial airplanes could be used as weapons.
• An attack could come from within the country.
• Threats that once seemed unthinkable could become immediate.

Rowland says 9/11 changed how he views future dangers. Because an attack of that kind happened once, he believes Americans can no longer dismiss the possibility of other forms of terrorism.

Concerns about future attacks

The conversation includes Rowland's concern about Iran developing nuclear technology. He argues that the United States should take the possibility of a nuclear weapon being brought into an American city seriously.

He praises President Donald Trump's determination to act against Iran and says previous presidents had left difficult decisions unresolved for decades. These comments are part of the hosts' broader concern that America is more vulnerable today because of division, border policy, and what they see as a failure to learn lasting lessons from 9/11.

Unity After 9/11 and Division Today

A country that came together, at least for a time

Smith and Rowland agree that 9/11 created some national unity in the immediate aftermath. Americans shared grief, recognized a common danger, and honored the people who died.

They don't claim the country was completely united. Still, they believe the sense of unity after 9/11 was stronger than anything America would experience after a similar attack today.

The hosts remember a country that felt more united after the attacks than it does now.

They also discuss the pain still carried by victims' families. Some families objected to a New York political figure they refer to as Madani attending a 9/11-related event, while others argued for forgiveness and moving forward. The disagreement showed how even the public remembrance of 9/11 can become politically divided.

Why they believe a new attack would divide the country

According to the hosts, a comparable attack today could pull Americans apart instead of bringing them together. They point to distrust, partisan conflict, disagreements over immigration and border security, and competing views of America's identity.

Smith believes division can make the country more exposed to threats. A nation that cannot agree on facts, danger, or basic responsibilities has less ability to respond together in a crisis.

They contrast the two periods in simple terms:

The Political and Religious Concerns Raised in the Episode

Their argument about radical Islam and socialism

The hosts repeatedly describe 9/11 as an attack carried out by radical Islam. They find it troubling that, 25 years later, Muslims they view as politically radical are winning elections in the United States.

Rowland argues that radical Islam and socialism share compatible political and philosophical principles. He says that compatibility helps explain what he sees as an alliance between radical religious beliefs and socialist politics.

They also mention socialist commentator Hasan, whom Rowland says has stated that America deserved 9/11. Rowland treats that statement as evidence of a view that people who reject a particular religious or political belief deserve punishment or death.

These are the hosts' religious and political arguments, and they connect them to their concern that Americans have become too willing to overlook the ideology behind the 9/11 attacks.

Socialism, elections, and younger voters

The hosts cite a claim that 56% of the Democratic Party favors socialism over capitalism. They do not identify the source during the conversation, and Smith says he struggles to believe the number could be accurate.

Still, the figure drives their discussion. They associate the shift toward socialism with people 30 and younger, including members of the Democratic Socialists of America. In their view, younger voters are becoming politically active, organizing, and winning elections while holding ideas the hosts believe conflict with capitalism, private property, and the Constitution.

Smith questions why voters would support candidates who favor policies such as defunding police, weakening border enforcement, abolishing ICE, and expanding government control. He also expresses doubt that election results always reflect a fair and honest voting system.

Education, History, and the Search for Truth

What the hosts believe universities have taught

Smith and Rowland believe universities have helped spread socialist and radical political ideas. They argue that educational institutions shaped many of the beliefs held by younger activists and voters.

The hosts connect those concerns to what they see as weak historical instruction. Smith says younger Americans may know little about God, 9/11, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or the national changes caused by major events.

For Rowland, the issue goes beyond a lack of information. He believes people have been taught a philosophy that criticizes America while benefiting from the freedoms and opportunities America provides.

Disappointment in educated and religious leaders

Smith says one of his greatest disappointments is that "smart people let us down." He expected educated people to defend what he sees as basic truths, including clear mathematics, biological sex, and historical facts.

Rowland adds that people who claim to be spiritual have also failed. He believes theologians, pastors, and Christians who claim to stand for truth have often chosen silence or avoided confrontation.

The hosts say standing for truth brings consequences. In church settings, they believe a person who takes a firm position may be labeled a compromiser or liberal by some people, while others may call that same person a legalist, Pharisee, or someone with a religious spirit.

They point to division among Christians over Charlie Kirk as one example. Smith argues that some people rejected Kirk because of his firm stand on biblical teaching, and he connects that opposition to the harsh criticism surrounding his assassination.

The Church's Responsibility to Teach and Evangelize

Doctrine matters, but so does leading people to Christ

Rowland says Christians should study doctrine carefully. He names post-tribulation teaching, the five points of Calvinism, and the ten toes in Daniel's vision as subjects worth studying.

However, he worries that believers can become absorbed in theological debates while lost people remain without Jesus. The church may settle arguments about eschatology, prophecy, or doctrine while failing to carry out the simpler work of bringing people to Christ.

The hosts return to one repeated priority: "Winning people to Jesus."

Rowland asks whether the church has left "the simplicity of the gospel" behind. He fears that some Christians have become comfortable watching people choose their own paths while no longer speaking with urgency about salvation.

A failure to prepare people for the wider culture

The hosts believe the church failed to equip people with truth before exposing them to the philosophies of the broader culture. Rowland describes it as sending people into the world to sample its ideas and then expecting them to return unchanged.

Smith says a relationship with God requires daily attention. In his view, people who don't maintain that relationship steadily drift away from God. He applies that conviction to the country as a whole, arguing that America has moved so far from God that younger generations may have little understanding of faith or history.

They say the church needs to return to discipleship, foundational teaching, soul-winning, intercession, worship, and prayer.

Revival, Freedom, and the Weight of Criticism

Why revival is their answer

Smith and Rowland agree that revival is the answer to the problems they describe. They believe political action alone cannot repair what they see as a spiritual crisis rooted in education, public life, culture, and the church.

Smith says revival often comes in a time of great desperation. Although he believes the country appears farther from revival than ever, he continues to pray for one across the nation.

Rowland agrees that America needs revival more urgently now than it did after 9/11. He believes the church must rise up, but he also acknowledges that it has not done so. Until that changes, he says Christians should pray that the church will again become on fire for God and return to the central work of leading people to Jesus.

Criticism can weaken a country, Smith argues

Smith uses the image of a fire being put out one small bucket of water at a time. For 250 years, he says, patriotism and love of country have burned in the hearts of Americans. Yet constant criticism can become those buckets of cold water.

In his view, a nation doesn't need to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon to be weakened. Ongoing attacks on the country's history, freedom, leaders, and people can also damage national confidence.

Smith connects American freedom to Christian faith and quotes the biblical idea that those whom Christ sets free are free indeed. He sees America's commitment to freedom as evidence of its Christian foundation.

The hosts are frustrated by what they call an epidemic of criticism. They say many public debates have become tabloid conversations built around accusations, scandals, and opinions rather than facts and solutions.

Did America Learn From 9/11?

Lessons that have not lasted

Smith and Rowland say America has learned some things since 9/11. Americans understand that unexpected attacks can happen, and the country has seen the long-term cost carried by families, first responders, military members, and communities.

Yet they believe the deeper lessons haven't lasted. They see a country that has forgotten the horror of the attacks, weakened its historical memory, embraced political ideas they oppose, and grown more divided.

Their concerns include border security, terrorism, education, public criticism, political extremism, and the church's lack of urgency. They believe all of those issues raise the same question: has America remembered 9/11 well enough to learn from it?

Remembering those who paid the price

The episode closes with respect for those who died on September 11, those who fought in the years that followed, and families who still bear the loss.

Smith and Rowland pray that the nation will learn from its history. Their final appeal is direct: remember 9/11, respect those who gave their lives, and return to the foundational truths they believe America has neglected.

Remembering 9/11 With Honesty and Prayer

Twenty-five years after the attacks, Smith and Rowland still see 9/11 as a personal and national wound. The memory of that day includes the nearly 3,000 lives lost, the courage shown in the midst of terror, and the families who continue to grieve.

Their central conviction is that America must not forget. They believe the country needs historical memory, truth, renewed commitment to the gospel, and revival if it is going to face the divisions and threats they see ahead.

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