UNITED STATES—Do you remember where you were on September 11, 2001? For me I do. I can recall it so vividly and that entire day in detail I don’t think my memory could be sharper. It has been teased time and time again it was the day that changed the United States of America forever and for my generation, I have to agree.
I was a senior in high school, I was in my Pre-Calculus class and it was the first time my teacher had ever turned on the TV that we had in the classroom. So that immediately raised alarm bells. We’re watching the news and we see a plane collide directly into one of the World Trade Center buildings in New York City. Mind you the other building was already on fire and smoking.
You think it’s a joke at first, but it soon becomes a realization, this is no joke. Something serious has happened. Before you know it, the PA system comes on and all students are alerted to head home immediately. We don’t know exactly what is going on, but as you get home and turn on the news, you discover the United States of America is under attack by terrorists. Yes, a terrorist attack unfolded in this country that led to the loss of close to 3,000 people after two planes collided into the WTC buildings, firefighters and first-responders who came to the aid of those injured, not to mention a third plane that crashed near the Pentagon.
Al Queda perhaps a name many people know well today if you were born during the time of those attacks. Took more than a decade, but the man who was responsible for initiating those attacks, Osama Bin Laden was found and taken out by the United States special forces. There was a lot of fear after 9/11, people suspected others just because they ‘looked’ a certain way, people were afraid to travel and how we traveled via plane completely changed.
Yes, you saw the introduction of the TSA which did elevated screenings of all passengers boarding a flight. Yeah, the days of rushing to the airport last minute to catch your flight, those days were long gone. Why Do I remember this so vividly? I remember taking a flight to California about 4 months earlier and it was smooth and quick. Not anymore. Nearly 9 months after 9/11, I flew for the first-time after those events and we had to get to the airport almost 3-4 hours before our flight department at 7 a.m.
Things did indeed totally change America, and there is now some chatter about making September 11 a federal holiday. To be honest I am surprised the U.S. Congress and politicians haven’t taken action sooner. I just mentioned earlier this week that the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and they had to pause. Their response, “Oh, I totally forgot about that.” That is a problem a lot of individuals have forgotten about that fateful day.
How can you forget if you were alive and of age? I guess a lot of people were not directly impacted by the attacks. When I say that, I reference them NOT losing a loved one or friend. I think death put another perspective for most Americans when it comes to 9/11. However, that was the first time in my entire lifetime I can recall, every single station on TV, including Cable networks had coverage about the terrorist attacks. That is something that had never unfolded and I never witnessed before or after that incident.
However, we do have to think about the aftermath of those attacks which led to the Iraq War and many American soldiers invading a country that led to many and I mean many American deaths. If you have family members who enlisted in the military it was extra scary because for me, I have a ton of people in my family that have fought for this country. I don’t think that is something many Americans can say. You truly don’t know when you say goodbye if that is the last time you will see that person who you sometimes take for granted.
I know some of the news stations will take a moment and reflect on the lives lost on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, but I really hope Americans take a moment and just reflect. Pause, think about those who were killed and how the country was forever changed and shaped by that fateful day. It was beyond scary because with those attacks, no one was certain if another attack was about to unfold and where it would unfold. Let it be known, those lives lost on September 11, 2001 will never be forgotten.
