"This is the first good news New York has gotten in a while...especially one involving a plane."
-Sully, 2016
Yesterday, September 10, I attended the screening of the movie Sully. It was about the miracle that occurred on the Hudson River in 2009 when a commercial airliner was successfully landed in the river, all 155 passengers exiting the plane alive.
Today, September 11, 2016, is the 15th anniversary of the fall of the World Trade Center. It was the day that changed America forever, those 102 minutes creating a death toll of almost 3,000 people.
But this article is not a movie review because I am no critic, and I rarely go to the movies because overpriced food and screaming children just don't seem to draw me in anymore (However, 10/10 recommend this movie and although I resent admitting it, I did ALMOST shed a tear or two.)
This article is not just another person's opinion on the events that played out on September 11, 2001. Although, no matter how many articles I read, stories I hear, or newscasts I watch, I still learn something new each time. And each time, I feel a sense of poorly timed pride in our country.
Some may say our country is currently in shambles, and I'll be the first to admit that the presidential race is one of the many things that scares me. But on September 11, I grieve all those who lost their lives and I am proud of all those who risked their lives to save complete strangers.
This was the common string between 9/11 and Sully: the sense of pride I felt. Despite both of these events being tragic and traumatizing, the way people come together in times of need makes me proud to be an American.
When the plane crashed in the Hudson, the NYPD, the Coast Guard, ferry drivers, and so many others jumped to help the complete strangers stranded in the 32-degree water. When the Twin Towers fell, the NYPD, New York Fire Department, police and firefighters from all over, along with anyone who thought they could lend a hand, jumped into action to save as many people as they could while risking their own lives.
It’s unfortunate that it takes a disaster to bring people together for a greater cause, but it also reassures me that (1) there are still good people in this world and (2) in times of need, everyone will put aside their first-world problems to deal with the task at hand. So hold the ones you love so dearly this week, pray for those around you struggling for whatever reason and be grateful for the life you get to wake up to tomorrow.
