It seems to me that people have forgotten the charged emotions, fear, and confusion that occurred on September 11, 2001. It is easier, sometimes, to put difficult and painful thoughts in the back of your mind; to think about it as "something that happened" but not let it affect our daily lives. On the 9th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, I think we owe it to every victim to take a moment and remember. To imagine what that day was like for them. To think about what our country needs to do to make sure it never happens again. That our children never have to live through this.
So imagine:
You are on an airplane. Suddenly men with knives are charging the cockpit and there is mass chaos. You have nowhere to go and nothing to fight with. After a few moments, you realize that this is the end. Your mind races. Can you call home? Does your phone work? If I leave a note, would it survive? Does my family know I love them? How long do I have to wait before it is all over?
You are sitting at your desk. Suddenly the whole room shakes, and a heat wave passes over you. You have no idea what just happened. No one does. News comes slowly--you are told to stay where you are, then later you are told to leave. Exits are crammed. You make your way down a staircase, as you feel everything getting hotter. People start to turn back. More news comes. You were above the impact. There's no way down. No one is coming to help you. What do you do? The building may collapse. If it stands, it could be days before anyone can reach you. People are getting hysterical--some decide to jump. Do you follow?
You are the fireman. The police officer. The first responder. This is the worst situation you have ever seen. Everything in your gut tells you to turn back, but you press on. Through the crowds, through the dust, up the staircases, trying to help. Then the building starts to rumble. You know there's no time to turn back and get out. Somehow you are brave enough to let others go before you, to try to save themselves.
You are the witness. Standing on the street or watching at home. You cannot believe what you are seeing. First they call it an accident. Then it happens again. And again. And one more, in a field. It is no accident. Are there more? Where are they? Who are they? Why? You wait, but answers do not come. You watch and wait. You think of everyone you know and where they might be. Will they be safe? You try to call a few, but the phone signals are so jammed no one can make contact. You are in a nation up-ended, thrown into confusion and worry.
You are the wife, the mother, the child left behind. He is going overseas, and you are left at home. You know "freedom isn't free" and believe in the cause, but the only thing you truly care about is whether or not he is going to come home alive. Will he call? Will he have what he needs? Where is he when the emails stop coming? How long until we hear that he's safe? Is he?
We don't need to imagine, since we all experienced that day. We did not lose our lives, but we lost a part of our national identity, our sense of security. It was not taken by a country, even, but by a group of radicals who have no regard for human life. They used airplanes as weapons, disregarding the lives of the passengers. They continue today to use humans as weapons--suicide bombers who kill themselves and others in the name of Allah.
This is how you know they are wrong. How you know they are evil. That they push and push their ideas on the world without a second thought about killing someone to prove their point.
No true Christian has ever killed innocent humans to further God's kingdom. No activist group or political action committee would blow up children in the street to get their way. Because in America, we are civilized. We respect human life. The monsters who attacked our homeland know nothing of that. They are evil. They have damaged our country. They must be held accountable.
So do not forget. Do not forget what they have done and what others have sacrificed. That is what you can do to honor their sacrifice.
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