Like most Americans on September 11, 2001, I watched the television, horrified, as the twin towers toppled in New York City. Unlike most Americans, I watched the unfolding scene from one of our U.S. consulates in Saudi Arabia, where I worked for the U.S. government.

Though we did not know at the time that most of the hijackers were from that country, if asked why Americans were hated with such brutality, I could have told you that very day.

Part of my job was visiting Americans in jail. Most Americans I visited were jailed because they sold illegal liquor in that conservative Muslim country. Selling alcohol, X-rated movies, acting in ways considered offensive to the Saudi conservative interpretation of Islam were the reasons most Americans were arrested.

To some devout Muslims of that country, Americans were a decadent lot who brought in booze, drugs, and pornography. And, they believed, Americans not only were decadent but brought their decadence to Saudi Arabia and corrupted the country with their petrodollars. Then, to protect their oil, the Americans brought thousands of their soldiers to the Middle East to fight Muslims. So it appeared to many. They wanted us out.

There are no excuses for 9/ll. Nothing excuses the actions of the hijackers, who chose to act out their anger for the threats to their culture by committing an act of pure evil. We might, however, redeem that awful day of sorrow and hurt. We might reflect on the suffering caused when those threatened by changes to beloved cultures choose to fight with hatred.

In our own country, citizens of different viewpoints sometimes appear to want to vanquish the opposing side as the hijackers wanted to vanquish America, giving in to hatred as they react to perceived threats to their way of life. No one in a democracy gets everything they want. Our best memorial to those who died in New York City nine years ago this month might be to honor our differences. We might look for ways to fuse our differences into a bridge, an arched bridge, stronger than any part by itself.

If we do not learn to use and even celebrate our differences and to respect those who disagree with us, we may cause our own destruction, more tragic than what those hijackers did on 9/11.