We "deserved" 9/11 because we were complacent. The same way we "deserved" Pearl Harbor.

When one starts feeling untouchable, eventually an event happens to prove the opposite.

"Deserve" is a word that can be misinterpreted. It can be taken as a form of personal punishment or misconstrued as retribution.

When I used the word deserved in the post above, I use it too describe a certain relationship between knowledge and subsequent events and learning experiences.

The child isn't being punished by being burned (for some past action) but rather the burning is part of growing up and maturing.

The events of 9/11, like those 12/7, are a part of our national maturing. We, as a nation, apparently didn't learn enough from the various bombings of our embassies, military barracks and of the WTC back in the nineties - and if we did learn, generations forgot and grew careless - or we simply didn't learn enough.

Folks always take it personally when I talk about the various relationships that can be seen behind tragedies.

So yes, America has earned its lumps - and not necessarily through some evil America has done unto the world. Ignorance alone is always going to earn one lumps as well. And there is always a benefit to these negative events - but like the most beautiful flower growing from the stinkiest dunghill, it's a benefit not immediately realized.