It has been twenty years since our enemies silenced those voices. We remember the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and or friends who went to work that day by random chance or divine fate, only to be destroyed. No amount of sadness, tears, war, and or fighting can bring them back. We are left with a gaping wound that will not heal. Time dulls the pain, but it never goes away. The silence of their voices is a testament to the tragedy. We must remember those voices, faces, and mannerisms that made them fellow humans.
Yet, today, we have people who do not know what occurred and perhaps do not believe it. We are left to ring the alarm bell, but some think we are “Crying, Wolf.” This last saddens me the most. I slept next to those twin towers just days before. I saw the hollow holes left after they fell. I wanted to avoid every attack location but worked near every site.
I remember eating breakfast in the hotel lobby in Chicago on September 11th and then seeing the first plane. Still in numb shock, then seeing the second. Then, the report of the Pentagon strike. Then, after a while, we heard conjecture of another flight that crashed. We were attacked. I remember just trying to understand the “WHY” of the event.
I remember where I worked that day, as they didn’t want to do anything. Everyone was in shock, dealing with it in different ways. Airlines were grounded—the eerily empty streets of Chicago. Hosts of people were in unknown locations. Communications broke in a lot of places. That day, the group I was working with decided to go to a bar for lunch, and we never really left. We watched the television in stunned silence; the videos, photos, and horrific scenes coupled with unbound heroism and love for one another.
Later, our country realized that we had a common enemy. This enemy wanted to inflict death on people who gave hope to many. So, as before, when the United States was attacked, we rallied together. We realized we needed to act united. I wish those who do not know or believe about the attack could read various accounts of the events to gain some wisdom. I wish it would not take so much blood to be spilled for the United States to act again in a united fashion.
Listen and remember these events as the people need to learn from them. They occurred, and they were horrific. The United States stood united that day.
