On September 11, 2001, the lives of Americans were changed forever. We were all affected by the events of that day and as we mark the somber 10th anniversary of that day, what have we learned?
For weeks leading up to the 10th anniversary of the tragedy of 911, many are reflecting on how our country has changed. Has it changed for the better or are we just as naïve as we were pre-911?
Security in our airports has noticeably changed but many wonder if loopholes still exist. Being able to prove your identity has become more difficult for many Americans with motor vehicle agencies now requiring stricter guidelines for driver’s license renewals.
Are we really any safer or do threats still remain?
This author believes that 911 was an event that our government had forewarning about but neglected to take seriously. Communication between departments of the government was not efficient and too many egos kept us from being safe.
Terrorism can happen here and that is the biggest lesson that Americans have learned from 911. For many years we watched as terrorists attacked cities all over the world and many of us believed that it could never happen here. We have watched as innocent people died in foreign countries and although we may have felt compassion for them, we never imagined that we would know what it is like to be a victim ourselves.
One did not have to live on the East coast of the United States to feel the impact of 911. It changed everyone’s feelings of security. Many people who died had gotten on planes on the West coast only to die when their plane hit one of the Twin Towers in New York City. You did not have to personally know a victim to feel the pain.
In this author’s opinion, looking back on the events that took place after 911, we allowed the terrorists to win. Many blame President Bush but as far as I am concerned, no president is 100% to blame for the reactions after this national tragedy.
Ten years later and the area the media dubbed “Ground Zero” remains empty. This to me is the biggest mistake.
Yes, thousands died on that spot but not rebuilding the towers as they were shows the terrorists that they won. They defeated us.
Their goal was to hit us where they think our heart is. The financial district of our country was symbolized by the Twin Towers.
The Pentagon which was severely damaged was rebuilt. Why not the towers?
911 stopped us in our tracks. For days afterwards, many of us were unable to function. The terrorists saw this as a sign of victory.
Yes, we were all in shock and perhaps our leadership was not strong enough to make swift decisions. That hurt us.
The goal should have been to identify those responsible and bring them to justice. Instead we eventually sent troops overseas and wound up killing more innocent civilians than were killed on September 11th.
The recent killing of Osama bin Laden is seen as a victory by some for President Obama. President Obama did what any other president would have done armed with the knowledge that this America’s most wanted criminal was finally spotted.
What we need to do is to figure out who was helping him to hide out and then take appropriate action against them such as cutting off financial aid. I certainly am not suggesting that there should be more bloodshed.
Many Americans still fear more terrorists’ attacks on our soil. Many of us feel that the wars in Iraq and now Afghanistan are unnecessary. How is this bringing anyone to justice? Our brave young men and women are dying for what cause?
Another sore spot for this author is the denial of benefits to those who spent days sifting through the rubble of the towers looking for survivors. Because they were unprotected, many of them have suffered from severe health problems because of their unselfish bravery. Our government promised to take care of them and now they have turned their backs denying them financial compensation.
This is a disgrace. These men and women thought only of trying to help others. They never stopped to think what exposure to the burning toxins would do to their lungs. Many have died, developed cancer or other severe respiratory illnesses because of their exposure.
Our government promised to help them. As a nation we should be shouting from the rooftops for our government to make good on this promise.
We have no problem sending money to Iraq to help the country build a democracy but we cannot take care of our own? There is something very wrong with this. Many will blame the Republicans or the Democrats but to me it is not an issue of political parties. It is our government as a whole that is to blame.
While we reflect on what we lost on 911 let us also remember the promises made to those who survived. All we can do is remember the victims but it is the living that needs our help. It is sad but we need to come to terms with the reality that terrorism can hit us in our own backyard.
We need to stand strong as a nation, take care of America and our heroes and send a message to the world that we will not be vulnerable to terrorism again.