Letters to the Editor — The 9/11 Editorial Comments
Published September 15, 2026 at 1:24 PM · News Releases and Bulletins
Last week Weekly Industry News Editor Gary Wolcott posted an editorial on the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The editorial noted how we were unified as a nation for a short time after the attacks but many of us quickly fell back into a sort of apathy.
Here is a link to last week’s editorial: https://bit.ly/4A6PyMm
At the end of the editorial, Wolcott urged readers to respond with their own take on the state of affairs since the 9/11 attacks. Two agents responded. The first is from Annette Claypool Petzel of RP Ryan Insurance in Phoenix, Arizona.
Hi Gary,
I agree with your editorial 9/9/26 you wrote on Remembering 9/11. What can the individual do? I have written letters to congressmen and senators and get back boilerplate answers. I hang my flag. But what else can I do? What suggestions do you have? I am so afraid of the direction our country is headed — more afraid for the young people who do not have the history of experience tempering decisions. What groups can I join? I am not alone in the frustration of feeling like my views do not count.
Thank you for that article
Annette Claypool Petzel, MIM, CFP
R P Ryan Insurance, Inc.
18501 N 40th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85032
Annette. In my opinion, writing letters and sending emails is important and we — as interested citizens — ought to do more of it. We also need to be seen by our representatives. And that’s all of them, local to national. The more they see of us, and hear what we have to say, the more impact it will have.
It’s also important to be loaded with facts. Knowing and understanding issues is critical and is a magnificent tool to use when asking questions of those we elect to govern us. And this — again — applies to all levels of government from local to national.
Lastly, the most serious response and impact we can have on decision-makers is always found at the ballot box.
The second response is an editorial of its own from Esther Mahaffey of Garrenger Insurance in Colville, Washington. She correctly pointed out that my description in the first sentence of my editorial called the 9/11 terrorists, “extremists.” Esther noted they were NOT extremists. They were terrorists.
Hello Gary,
For the record, the people who carried out the September 11 attacks were terrorists. They were not merely “extremists,” and I believe it is important that we use the correct words when talking about what happened.
On September 11, 2001, 19 Islamist terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners. Two were deliberately flown into the World Trade Center towers, one was flown into the Pentagon, and the fourth—United Airlines Flight 93—was brought down in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, after the passengers bravely fought back against the hijackers. Everyone aboard Flight 93 was killed, but those passengers prevented the terrorists from reaching their intended target and likely saved countless lives on the ground.
There is a very important distinction between extremism and terrorism. A person can hold extreme beliefs without committing a terrorist act. Terrorism, however, involves the deliberate use of violence to achieve political, religious, or ideological objectives. The 9/11 attacks were unquestionably acts of terrorism, and the men who carried them out were terrorists.
That is why I am frustrated when journalists, commentators, or anyone else describes 9/11 without plainly calling it what it was: a terrorist attack carried out by terrorists. Choosing softer or less precise terminology does not change history, and it does a disservice to the nearly 3,000 people who were murdered that day.
We should not be afraid to use accurate language when discussing terrorism. Calling terrorists “extremists” is not the same thing. Extremism describes a belief; terrorism describes what someone does. On 9/11, these men didn't simply hold extreme beliefs — they acted on those beliefs by murdering innocent people and deliberately attacking our country.
I do agree with your article on one important point. In the aftermath of 9/11, Americans came together in a way that we rarely see today. We were more patriotic, we stood together, and for a time it truly felt like we were one nation. Regardless of our political differences, Americans recognized that we were in this together.
Sadly, that sense of unity and patriotism seems much harder to find today. That is something worth remembering when we look back on September 11 — not only the tragedy, but also the way Americans came together afterward.
We owe it to those who were killed, their families, the first responders, and the passengers of Flight 93 to remember the truth, call terrorism what it is, and never allow the history of that day to be softened or rewritten.
Esther Mahaffey
Office Manager, CISR
509-684-5059
509-684-8192 fx
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Again, here is a link to the editorial: https://bit.ly/4A6PyMm
Weekly Industry News always welcomes your comments on any story we publish. Comments can be sent to garywolcott@piawest.com.