September 11th, 7 years later
It's been 7 years since September 11th, 2001. Has anything changed? Actually, a lot has changed, and none for the better.
That morning, my mom kept me home from school. I had a pretty bad toothache, so I planned on just spending the day on the couch, relaxing and making my toothache go away. I was flipping through the morning tv, going back and forth from cartoons to the news. During one of these channel changes, I noticed that there was an important-looking breaking news story on. I stopped flipping, and sat there, figuring out, along with the rest of the nation, what was going on. I saw the towers, one with billowing gray smoke emanating from a giant hole in the side of it. I called my mom into the room. She looked at the screen, saw what was happening, but she was working from home, so she just went back to work. I kept watching, and only a few minutes later, noticed a small gray speck heading towards the towers. I figured out, as the reporters did, that it was another plane. Until that point, we all thought that this was just a freak accident. As the second plane hit, we knew it had to be something more. We weren't sure, but we knew it wasn't a coincidence. I called my mom again. "Mom, another plane hit the other tower," I yelled to her. She came in, but this time she sat down next to me. Together, we watched the footage of the smoke pouring out of the two buildings. We watched as people ran screaming away from the towers. We watched in horror as the towers fell, one after the other, crushing so many people beneath them. We watched people run through the smoke, still without a clue as to what had caused all of this. We thought the worst was over. My mom and I just sat in silence, taking everything in. It wasn't over. We saw the destruction at the Pentagon, and it wasn't until later that we learned about the last plane.
More information came in, and we learned that at least one of the planes originated from Boston. My mom was set to go on a business trip a few days later. She got up, called her boss, and told him there was no way she could get on a plane after this. He agreed, and cancelled the trip. Then she called my stepdad, who was still just her boyfriend at the time. He was at work when she called, and had no idea that anything had happened. She explained it all to him, but he couldn't comprehend it all. It wasn't until much later that he got the full news story.
I was thankful that I wasn't in school that day. The administration had made the decision to inform the students about what was happening. My classmates learned from the principal that something big and bad had happened. In the class that I would've been in, had I been in school, my teacher turned on the radio and listened to the reports for the rest of class. Instead, I was at home, with my mom, watching everything live on television.
In the days that followed the attacks, the United States saw patriotism unlike anything it had ever seen before. Everywhere you looked, you saw American flags, homemade signs, newspapers and magazines, and everything else you could possibly think of, all showing true patriotism. My mom and I stopped at a roadside memorial. A man had set up a small table, covered in tealights. He asked for donations to be sent to a relief fund of some sort, and in exchange, we could light a candle. We had no way of knowing if this man would really send the money or not, but it didn't matter. We just stopped, gave some money, and lit a couple of candles. We prayed, still not entirely sure that what had happened was real.
I don't think our country will ever be united that way again. We were one entity in the days following 9/11. We were Americans, and no matter how old you were or where you came from, you supported the country. We all mourned the lost. Whether we knew anyone who died or not, we mourned.
It's been 7 years. It doesn't feel like it, because we can all remember it as if it was yesterday. Some of the details have blended, but for the most part, we all have vivid memories of where we were when we found out, and of what we did in the days following. For some reason, though, the patriotism has faded. We are no longer one entity, but many different groups. We blame everyone for everything, we fight, we complain, and we lose sight of what really matters. Many Americans harbor racist feelings towards their fellow citizens. How many Americans look twice when they see someone that they choose to categorize as Arab or Muslim? How many of the people that now feel the other end of that prejudice and racism are actually Arab or Muslim? And of those who are actually in those groups, how many are terrorists? Even more than that, why does a terrorist have to belong to one of those groups? No one stops to think anymore. They don't think about those questions. They don't think before they act. So many Americans have lost sight of the important things. So many of us don't think about the fact that the war is being fought by individuals, whether they agree with the cause or not. Soldiers, for the most part, don't choose to fight. They signed up to protect us, not to be ridiculed by people who disagree with the war.
Soldiers deserve every ounce of support that we can give them. How many of us could and would do what they're doing? I'm sure the number is small. If you won't stand with them, the least you can do is stand behind them, giving them all of your support.
Remember the overwhelming swell in patriotism and unity that followed 9/11? Why did it go away? Why not bring it back. Support your country. If you don't agree with your government, that doesn't mean you can't support your soldiers and your fellow citizens. Think twice when you see someone whose skin is a different color than yours. They're still an American. They didn't ask for the racism and the prejudice, and they did nothing to deserve it. Americans are Americans. Stand with them. Never forget, but instead of showing that you haven't forgotten by being prejudiced, show it by being patriotic and helping to unify a nation that we all know can be unified; we've seen it happen.
We will never forget. We will honor those lost on 9/11 and in the war that followed. We will stand behind our soldiers and behind our fellow Americans. We will bring back the unity that we've lost along the way.
That morning, my mom kept me home from school. I had a pretty bad toothache, so I planned on just spending the day on the couch, relaxing and making my toothache go away. I was flipping through the morning tv, going back and forth from cartoons to the news. During one of these channel changes, I noticed that there was an important-looking breaking news story on. I stopped flipping, and sat there, figuring out, along with the rest of the nation, what was going on. I saw the towers, one with billowing gray smoke emanating from a giant hole in the side of it. I called my mom into the room. She looked at the screen, saw what was happening, but she was working from home, so she just went back to work. I kept watching, and only a few minutes later, noticed a small gray speck heading towards the towers. I figured out, as the reporters did, that it was another plane. Until that point, we all thought that this was just a freak accident. As the second plane hit, we knew it had to be something more. We weren't sure, but we knew it wasn't a coincidence. I called my mom again. "Mom, another plane hit the other tower," I yelled to her. She came in, but this time she sat down next to me. Together, we watched the footage of the smoke pouring out of the two buildings. We watched as people ran screaming away from the towers. We watched in horror as the towers fell, one after the other, crushing so many people beneath them. We watched people run through the smoke, still without a clue as to what had caused all of this. We thought the worst was over. My mom and I just sat in silence, taking everything in. It wasn't over. We saw the destruction at the Pentagon, and it wasn't until later that we learned about the last plane.
More information came in, and we learned that at least one of the planes originated from Boston. My mom was set to go on a business trip a few days later. She got up, called her boss, and told him there was no way she could get on a plane after this. He agreed, and cancelled the trip. Then she called my stepdad, who was still just her boyfriend at the time. He was at work when she called, and had no idea that anything had happened. She explained it all to him, but he couldn't comprehend it all. It wasn't until much later that he got the full news story.
I was thankful that I wasn't in school that day. The administration had made the decision to inform the students about what was happening. My classmates learned from the principal that something big and bad had happened. In the class that I would've been in, had I been in school, my teacher turned on the radio and listened to the reports for the rest of class. Instead, I was at home, with my mom, watching everything live on television.
In the days that followed the attacks, the United States saw patriotism unlike anything it had ever seen before. Everywhere you looked, you saw American flags, homemade signs, newspapers and magazines, and everything else you could possibly think of, all showing true patriotism. My mom and I stopped at a roadside memorial. A man had set up a small table, covered in tealights. He asked for donations to be sent to a relief fund of some sort, and in exchange, we could light a candle. We had no way of knowing if this man would really send the money or not, but it didn't matter. We just stopped, gave some money, and lit a couple of candles. We prayed, still not entirely sure that what had happened was real.
I don't think our country will ever be united that way again. We were one entity in the days following 9/11. We were Americans, and no matter how old you were or where you came from, you supported the country. We all mourned the lost. Whether we knew anyone who died or not, we mourned.
It's been 7 years. It doesn't feel like it, because we can all remember it as if it was yesterday. Some of the details have blended, but for the most part, we all have vivid memories of where we were when we found out, and of what we did in the days following. For some reason, though, the patriotism has faded. We are no longer one entity, but many different groups. We blame everyone for everything, we fight, we complain, and we lose sight of what really matters. Many Americans harbor racist feelings towards their fellow citizens. How many Americans look twice when they see someone that they choose to categorize as Arab or Muslim? How many of the people that now feel the other end of that prejudice and racism are actually Arab or Muslim? And of those who are actually in those groups, how many are terrorists? Even more than that, why does a terrorist have to belong to one of those groups? No one stops to think anymore. They don't think about those questions. They don't think before they act. So many Americans have lost sight of the important things. So many of us don't think about the fact that the war is being fought by individuals, whether they agree with the cause or not. Soldiers, for the most part, don't choose to fight. They signed up to protect us, not to be ridiculed by people who disagree with the war.
Soldiers deserve every ounce of support that we can give them. How many of us could and would do what they're doing? I'm sure the number is small. If you won't stand with them, the least you can do is stand behind them, giving them all of your support.
Remember the overwhelming swell in patriotism and unity that followed 9/11? Why did it go away? Why not bring it back. Support your country. If you don't agree with your government, that doesn't mean you can't support your soldiers and your fellow citizens. Think twice when you see someone whose skin is a different color than yours. They're still an American. They didn't ask for the racism and the prejudice, and they did nothing to deserve it. Americans are Americans. Stand with them. Never forget, but instead of showing that you haven't forgotten by being prejudiced, show it by being patriotic and helping to unify a nation that we all know can be unified; we've seen it happen.
We will never forget. We will honor those lost on 9/11 and in the war that followed. We will stand behind our soldiers and behind our fellow Americans. We will bring back the unity that we've lost along the way.