Remembering 9-11-01
On this day, six years ago I was waking up and getting ready to go to work. At the time, I worked at the Subway off Cincinnati Dayton road in West Chester and was living in Clifton with my girlfriend at the time, Christina. I heard my friend Anthony calling from the other room. Something was on CNN, one of the Twin Towers was ablaze. We watched in amazement mixed with a bit of hysteria because we didn't have another way to cope. This was a little before 9am I think. As we watched the broadcast live we saw another plane coming from the right. Astonished that it flew right into the other tower, I can remember thinking we were either under attack or something Sci-Fi was going on. It turned out to be the former. The two buildings collapsed live on television with continued reports coming in from all over about more and more possibly hijacked airliners. Nervous, I continued on to work that morning. Finding out later that another plane had hit the Pentagon and yet another plane had crashed in Pennsylvania. --- Every year, as I look back I remember the people jumping from the buildings. My nervous laughter used to cope with the situation haunting me for having even seemingly found something so horrific as being humorous (which I assure you I did not). With each passing year as more and more of my peers and friends forget a little more, I try to remember a little more. The smoke billowing from the fallen towers; how the survivors on the ground must have felt with their lungs filling with asbestos insulation; even the events leading up to the attack which some have conspiracy theories about. It am at once frustrated and infuriated that so many of us have seemingly moved forward without regard to the past. Like a shallow knife cut the American people have rapidly pilled back only to let the cut seal up and presumably heal without any recourse for those who caused the injury in the first place. I am saddened that I am constantly faced with the feeling of our nation becoming infected by wounds not properly healed. --- So, as you and I both reflect this sixth anniversary of 9-11-01, I ask that you take a minute and think about what we have and haven't done as a nation to improve ourselves since that fateful day. I ask you to consider for yourself whether you feel you could have or should have done more leading up to today. I'm not asking whether you think you should have donated money, or put a flag on your car or house. Though many see these as patriotic moves, I find them to be nationalist and lacking the passion and fervor a patriotic endeavor would so embody. Please think about what you can do. Could you volunteer at a veterans shelter or hospital to help soldiers returning from war (whether you feel the war just or unjust doesn't matter, our wounded heroes could use your help)? Could you write or call your congressional members and senators and put pressure on them to return the nation's focus to the real war on terror by once again looking into Afghanistan and Pakistan for Osama Bin Laden? I would love to hear what you have or have not done. How do you reflect each year? DO you reflect each year?post a comment
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