On September 11, 2001, militants associated with the terrorist group Al-Quaeda hijacked 4 american airline airplanes and initiated suicide attacks against America. New York City and an area outside of Washington, DC were targeted. Of the four hijacked planes two hit the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and one hit the Pentagon outside Washington, DC. The fourth plane did not reach its unidentified target due to the bravery of its passengers, instead it crashed in a Pennsylvania field. On September 11, 2001, over 3,000 individuals were killed. In three days, the anniversary of this event will be remembered.
The events of that Tuesday morning 14 years ago are forever etched in the American memory, like seeing the horror that crossed the faces of our teachers and parents as they looked fearfully at their television screens. Some of us were there, bystanders to the collision and destruction, hopelessly running from the clouds of dark smoke that spread quickly through the New York streets—desperately gasping for air, fortunately having a means of escape, a place to run, somberly realizing that some weren’t that lucky.
We can’t fathom how it feels to lose someone in a matter of seconds to a terrorist attack. If we felt even a little of the anguish and horror that these families felt we’d never be able to function. In a sincere voice, we utter, “I’m sorry for your loss,” not realizing that you have nothing to be sorry for and that the last thing someone wants to hear is your apology—like you had any control over what happened at all.
In the coming days, we will hold remembrance for those that were lost on September 11. We will lay our feelings on the line to voice a sincere remembrance of their lives. We hope to tell their families that America has not forgotten.
For strangers it is hard to say goodbye to those we’ve never met, but it is easy to offer condolences, not as some who can sympathize and understand what these families have gone through under these circumstances, but as someone who has lost someone before.
I find that the deepest words have the ability to profoundly change how you come to grips with what has happened. Today, I hopefully offer these words as a farewell to our lost angels.
We don’t want to say we’re sorry for what has happened. We don’t expect our words to offer closure or peace. We are hoping that the best thing we can say is that no one died in vain. A line from the television show "Grey's Anatomy" said it best: “Life will find a way to continue.” We all think that when we’re gone our lives are over, but does it ever cross your mind that when life is over it's just beginning? It’s beginning in what we leave behind. For teachers, it’s what knowledge you have left your students. For engineers and architects, it’s what structures you have built. For entrepreneurs, it’s the businesses and jobs you’ve made. For parents, it’s the children you had the good grace to produce. No matter the position you held in life you leave an impact. Symbolically your life is still running its course. I know you don’t think you’ve lived enough, only because if it was me I would think the same. Look back at what you’ve left behind. Imagine the smiling faces of your families as they remember your best moments alive. Again we don’t want to say we’re sorry, nor do we want to offer closure or peace, but we find it imperative to say your life did not end during that tragedy. Your life is still present in what you have left behind. We remember YOU and thank you all for your gifts.
It's not what you take when you leave this world behind you; it's what you leave behind you when you go. - Randy Travis
To those that have not been directly affected by this event it is important to do your research. It is important to understand why airport security measures are so intense and why there is such a prejudice attitude towards individuals in the Middle Eastern Community. It is imperative that we all acknowledge the truth about terrorism. Terrorism exist. It's so present in our lives that we cheered when Barack Obama took out Osama Bin Laden and we cringed at the news reports like the Boston bombing and fear terrorist groups like ISIS. Unfortunately the 3000+ victims who died on September 11, 2001 didn't have this knowledge. They were not aware that an airport trip had the likability of becoming deadly but we DO!! Take precautions and while doing so take time to remember the civilians who have fallen.
