Fireworks exploded over the waters of Hood Canal illuminating the night sky in a kaleidoscope of color. Fireworks set off as a memorial dedicated to and commemorating the victims of September 9, 2001. Usually such a grand display of sight and sound is followed by simultaneous expressions of delight and awe but tonight there was only reverent silence. Families huddled together on blankets with arms wrapped around one another staring silently into the night sky. Our deeply ingrained memories of that day brought with it such feelings of sadness and loss. The more we learn, the more tragic it is. The more faces and the more voices we see and hear, the more personal it becomes.
On that day ten years ago today, we lost not only innocent lives but we lost our innocence as a Nation. We realized that our greatness as a country - the United States of America, a super power- could not and would not protect us from attack by a determined enemy. A terrorist organization backed by great wealth that had vowed to destroy us and end our way of life - al-Qaeda. A vow fueled by fierce hatred. Previously it felt, in our naiveté, that we lived under a protective bubble that nothing could penetrate. We believed that our streets, our cities, our states would always be safe from foreign attack. On 9/11 we learned how wrong we had been. This was an attack of epic proportions. Not a single attack on a single target but multiple attacks on multiple targets all on the same day. National Security did not protect us. Our military did not protect us. We were unprepared and vulnerable.
We grieved together and individually over the loss of life. We felt pain for those that had lost loved ones - the survivors. We felt empathy for those that had lived through it and would live forever with the nightmares and memories of their ordeal. We felt pride for the first responders and sadness for those 344 brave firefighters that gave up their lives in unselfish service to others. Nearly 3,000 people died in the suicide attacks by al-Qaeda operatives on that day and continues to threaten the health of far more even today.
However, as brutal as the attacks were and in spite of the great loss of life, the enemy did not defeat us. We would not allow them to knock us to the ground and stand on our heads. Our resolve rose to a level that I had never experienced in my life time. We came together and stood shoulder to shoulder singing our national anthem; and with great pride in our Nation and in ourselves we stood a little taller in the weeks that followed. This enemy had not destroyed our spirit. Our shock turned into anger and our anger turned into courage and strength and determination. Out of the ashes a phoenix rose. We were no longer a single person living our separate and individual lives, we were at last a Nation indivisible and united with one mind and one heart and one purpose.
I remember the details of that day so clearly. Only two other public events have affected me so profoundly - the assassination of President John F. Kennedy - a day of great sadness; and the day the first man walked on the moon - a day of great celebration. On September 11, 2001, at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time my alarm went off. As was my custom I laid in bed slowly waking up as I listened to the morning news. Being three hours behind the time on the east coast, I was just becoming fully awake when the announcement was made that at 8:46 a.m. Eastern Standard Time an airplane had flown into the North Tower of the New York World Trade Center. The board caster said that the occupants of the building had been told to stay where they were and to not evacuate the building. He said everything was under control and would be fine - surely a horrendous and tragic accident. I thought to myself "how can things be under control".
I immediately woke my sleeping husband and turned on the television. At 9:03 a.m. we watched in horror as the second plane flew into the South Tower and we witnessed the devastation that unfolded before our eyes. So great was our shock that it took a a while for it to register that our Nation was under attack. Then we learned that a third plane had flown into the Pentagon and a fourth had crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Within two hours both towers had collapsed. Part of the Pentagon was on fire. Our world would never be the same. To this day I am still in awe of how such a well orchestrated plan could be carried out with such precision. Who in National Security wasn't listening with due diligence? How could the planning of such a large operation escape notice? or did the powers that be choose to ignore the warnings?
While we will never forget 9/11, I must wonder, what happened? When did our pride, our togetherness first start to slip away? When did we fall back into fighting against each other instead of standing together tall and proud? When did political affiliations begin to drive a wedge between us? Maybe we're just more comfortable always being in conflict with one another. Does capitalism or our natural competitive nature breed this type of behavior? Why is it so hard for us to work together? I know that the freedom of choice and the freedom of speech are two of the things that make our nation so strong; but do you ever wonder if those things that make us strong are also the things that make us weak. A lot of the time we are so busy defending our position that we stop listening and stop being receptive to the ideas of others.
We have a congress that can't seem to agree on much of anything; and members of that great body that take pride in not agreeing just because they can. Our citizens have lost their jobs and in turn their homes to foreclosure. Our economy is in the toilet. There are very few jobs available and hundreds of applicants for each job. Increasingly more and more families are finding themselves homeless and in need of public assistance. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In my opinion, the rich are riding on the backs of the middle class and those that are forced to live below the poverty level.
Where is the understanding, the compassion? Why are the programs that benefit our most needy citizens the programs that always get cut first? The suicide rate, not only in this country but throughout the world, is at epidemic proportions. Our mental health programs are rapidly disappearing. Those suffering from depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress, and other mental health problems have no where to go, no one to turn to. Do we even need to question why suicide may seem to be the only option for these depressed and desperate souls?
We are engaged in a war that was entered into under false assumptions. A war that has almost bankrupted our nation and took the lives of far too many of our brave men and women in the armed forces. Too many are coming home physically or mentally maimed - or both. Is it a war that we should continue to fight in? Is it a war that we can win? I don't know. I must rely on those that are closer to the situation and more knowledgeable to answer those questions. My opinion would only be just that "my opinion". I do question if after all these years of dumping American money into foreign economies if the Arab world likes or respects us any more than they did prior to 9/11; or are they laughing all the way to the bank. I read just recently that there is money to be made in war. I see this war as being financially beneficial to every one except the United States. And another point, why does a barrel of oil cost us so much if these oil rich countries are our alias?
I just get so tired of all the fighting. It took tragedy to bring us together and the struggle of every day living to drive us apart.
We do have genuine heroes in this country. Good men and women that put others before self and for that I will be forever grateful. 9/11 in its tragedy brought out the best in us. If only we could recapture those qualities once again. God bless all of us and God bless America.
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