A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir

by Jacinda Ardern

“Well, I don’t understand why no one is asking…why.” This was the same question I’d been asking since I was a child, and that I would continue to ask for the rest of my life. What makes someone commit a crime, or an act of violence—even violence on a massive scale? If we know why, after all, maybe we can do something. And I really wanted to believe we could do something. The professor stared at me, a look of disbelief on his face. “You’re telling me that if I understood why this had happened, I would be okay with thousands of people dying?” “No! Obviously not.” That’s not what I was trying to say, not even close. The room had gone absolutely still. “No, I…” I fumbled for words I did not yet have. What I wanted to say was something like this: If we don’t understand how terrorists are made, how will we prevent the next attack, or the one after that? If we don’t ask the question why, are we just accepting this violence is inevitable? That we can’t help people feel safe again? And if that’s the case, what will the world become? Before I had time to formulate my response, the professor turned away from me and dismissed class. Students filed past me. I don’t know if they avoided eye contact with me; I was too busy avoiding eye contact with them. I gathered my books, quietly resolving never to speak in class again.

Jacinda's response to 9/11