I know this will be one of hundreds of posts regarding 9/11. I don't claim that mine will be special, spectacular, or even remotely interesting. However, 5 years after 9/11, there are some things I would like to remark upon.
With all the cable channels running specials on 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror, the footage from that horrible day has been replayed for the first time en masse in just about 5 years.
I forgot how horrified I was watching the planes crash into the WTC and the Pentagon.
I forgot how big of a hole United 93 left in the ground in PA.
I forgot about the brave men who raced into the Towers to try to rescue anyone left, many of them dying when the Towers crashed.
I forgot the fear that the people on those planes must have felt.
It slipped my mind exactly how selfless the people on United 93 actually were. I'm sure they were trying to save their own lives but in the end, they likely saved many by fighting back.
I believe it was a God thing that United 93 left 45 minutes later. While we can say "why did God allow this to happen?" I cannot give any answer that would satisfy those critics.
We have all forgotten the good will that we as a nation had for those few days and weeks following 9/11. We (myself included) let slip caring for our neighbor. Instead, mistrust, contempt, and rivlaries fill everything again.
I forgot that one of my former co-worker's son-in-law's father (hows that for 6 degrees of separation) saw the plane that crashed into the Pentagon. He was across the street for a meeting.
I forgot about how much I hate that Alan Jackson song "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?"
I forgot about Osama bin Ladin.
I forgot about fear.
Whoops - I let go the fact that W encouraged us to fight terrorism by shopping. OK - that might be a gross exaggeration but I seem to remember something about encouraging consumer spending right after the terrorist attacks.
And I'm probably not alone in many of these statements. It was a day that changed America. We can argue until we are blue in the face about whether or not it was for the better or the worse, but it has changed. However, as life has gone on, we have adapted to the changes (like the whole airport security BS). It just is. The mundane takes over.
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United 93 came on A&E the other day. I could only watch about 10 minutes of it before turning the station. It was too hard for me. I'm sure the film was respectful and all. It was too overwhelming for me.
