We Will Never Forget
I have never written about September 11, 2001 in my blog for many reasons. It is difficult to find words that could come close to conveying the horror, sorrow, shock, and fear that spread across America as first one plane, then another, crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center, followed by a plane that hit the Pentagon and another one that crashed in Pennsylvania. It is also difficult for me to express how I feel without being hateful. Though many people, Christians included, seem to think in this case it is okay to be hateful, that is simply not God's way. And I will be the first one to admit I struggle with this especially when thinking about an enemy who is so full of hate for us. Even thirteen years later, I find a certain amount of anger boiling up inside me and my throat tightens with sorrow.
Though 13 years may not seem a long time for those of us who were adults on that horrible day, to our not-yet-born or extremely young children, it is a time out of mind. On September 11, 2001 my oldest child was only 10 months old and I was only 2 months pregnant with our middle son. In their minds, September 11, 2001 is a matter of history books and stories Mom and Dad tell, just as Korea and Vietnam were to my generation and World War II was to our parents. And just like it was up to our parents and grandparents to help keep the memory alive of the reasons for those conflicts and the people who fought and died for our country's freedom it is our job to keep the memory of what happened September 11, 2001 alive. It is up to us not only to share the horror of that day but the accounts of men and women who rose above their own shock and horror to help others, some of whom would sacrifice their lives to that end. It is up to us to help our children understand that though our country was attacked in a savage horrific way, our spirit was not crushed. We did not stand around in the ashes, holding our hats, in self pity. We rose up, joined together and worked to try to make sense of what had happened. For the first time in what felt like a long time, America stood as one complete Nation, just as it had always done when our enemy backs us against the wll.
But we must also teach our children about the failures we experienced through this tragedy and this is where many people may disagree with me. Yes, there were many triumphant moments after that day but there were also moments in which I can honestly say, I was ashamed of some of my fellow Americans. Why? Because they responded to hateful actions with hateful actions. In some people's minds, all Muslims, even those they had lived next to for years, were the enemy. Masques were vandalized, Muslim children beat-up, threats were made, and some businesses owned by Muslims were forced to close out of fear. Some people would say that the actions were justified, while others would claim that it was a reaction driven out of fear, temporary insanity, as it were. Regardless of the reasons, it was wrong. Hate visited upon hate only results in more hate, it does not remedy the issue.
We may never be able to adequately express the dark day of 9/11/01 or the equally dark days that immediately followed. Hopefully, our children will never face the kind of fear all Americans felt after that morning. The fear that more terrorists would swoop out of sky and destroy our nation. The feeling of anxiety so intense it made it difficult to breath. We may never give them understanding of the hate that brought these actions about because many of us do not fully understand this. But we can keep that day alive in their minds, keeping the promise many us made on that day. The promise; We will Never Forget, America will NEVER FORGET!
Though 13 years may not seem a long time for those of us who were adults on that horrible day, to our not-yet-born or extremely young children, it is a time out of mind. On September 11, 2001 my oldest child was only 10 months old and I was only 2 months pregnant with our middle son. In their minds, September 11, 2001 is a matter of history books and stories Mom and Dad tell, just as Korea and Vietnam were to my generation and World War II was to our parents. And just like it was up to our parents and grandparents to help keep the memory alive of the reasons for those conflicts and the people who fought and died for our country's freedom it is our job to keep the memory of what happened September 11, 2001 alive. It is up to us not only to share the horror of that day but the accounts of men and women who rose above their own shock and horror to help others, some of whom would sacrifice their lives to that end. It is up to us to help our children understand that though our country was attacked in a savage horrific way, our spirit was not crushed. We did not stand around in the ashes, holding our hats, in self pity. We rose up, joined together and worked to try to make sense of what had happened. For the first time in what felt like a long time, America stood as one complete Nation, just as it had always done when our enemy backs us against the wll.
But we must also teach our children about the failures we experienced through this tragedy and this is where many people may disagree with me. Yes, there were many triumphant moments after that day but there were also moments in which I can honestly say, I was ashamed of some of my fellow Americans. Why? Because they responded to hateful actions with hateful actions. In some people's minds, all Muslims, even those they had lived next to for years, were the enemy. Masques were vandalized, Muslim children beat-up, threats were made, and some businesses owned by Muslims were forced to close out of fear. Some people would say that the actions were justified, while others would claim that it was a reaction driven out of fear, temporary insanity, as it were. Regardless of the reasons, it was wrong. Hate visited upon hate only results in more hate, it does not remedy the issue.
We may never be able to adequately express the dark day of 9/11/01 or the equally dark days that immediately followed. Hopefully, our children will never face the kind of fear all Americans felt after that morning. The fear that more terrorists would swoop out of sky and destroy our nation. The feeling of anxiety so intense it made it difficult to breath. We may never give them understanding of the hate that brought these actions about because many of us do not fully understand this. But we can keep that day alive in their minds, keeping the promise many us made on that day. The promise; We will Never Forget, America will NEVER FORGET!
Comments
Post a Comment