On this day, fifteen years ago, our nation was faced with one of the most catastrophic tragedies in our history. Two planes crashed into both buildings of the World Trade Center, causing both to collapse, thousands of deaths, and leaving millions of Americans confused, angry, and heartbroken.
This is only scratching the surface of the events of 9/11. For the past fifteen years that have followed, that day has continued to impact the course of this country, as a whole and on an individual level. Today, we still face threats of terrorism, heightened levels of Islamophobia and xenophobia, and thousands are still missing those they lost in the attack.
There are libraries full of lessons we can take from 9/11, running the gambit of all sorts of issues, from foreign policy to security measures, even down to remembering to tell people that you love them. Even if you don't think you've been affected by 9/11, you truly have been in some way.
Fifteen years later, the thing that strikes me the most is that this will be the first year that incoming high school students will learn about 9/11 as an event that occurred before they were born.
It's interesting to think that time goes on and soon there will be people reading about this in textbooks. Thinking back on my middle school days, and reading about events like the Civil War and the Women's Rights Movement, I never could quite imagine what it would be like to actually live through those events. As someone who lived through 9/11, the experience a textbook describes doesn't even scratch the surface. Sure it gives you the facts, but the impact down to the individual level will never be captured.
I've seen YouTube videos of kids who lost parents during 9/11, mourning the loss as years go on. I've heard 9-1-1 phone calls being made from inside the towers. Textbooks, word of mouth, even videos could never quite preserve the feeling of being united when the country came together to mourn and heal. Now that I have a historical event that will be recalled for generations under my belt, I can now say that teaching history is incredibly important.
The world has since moved on, and we have rebounded with national pride and rebuilding ourselves, but we still have a long way to go. We are still too weary of foreigners, to the point where some would want to put up a wall. We assume that every Middle Eastern person is looking to set off a bomb. Of course, caution is wise, but our attitudes take it to the extreme. What we need to do now is show the world that we are still the same United States that welcomes all into our melting pot, and that here, you can accomplish anything.
It's truly awesome to see that kids will learn about these historical events and that they'll see how our country managed to rebound. I am proud to see that much after 15 years. Now, I want to be proud of the people who live here, and be proud to be from a country that can keep its head up and someday become the sanctuary that so many believed it was.
The history of the United States is one filled with ups and downs. I want to see us bounce from our steepest fall up to the top of the greatest mountain.
