By Stephanie Burke
I remember exactly where I was when it happened, as I'm sure almost everyone does. I was getting ready for work and I saw the first plane smoldering as hit had just hit the first tower. At that point everyone was speculating that the pilot maybe had a heart attack or something. Then we watched on in horror as the second plane hit the second tower. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, the horror that was unfolding on the screen. I remember going "OH MY GOD" and flinching as I watched. I felt tears come to my eyes and all I could think was, "The world has gone crazy." No one knew anything at that point but it was obvious it was something horrible. Then news came of the plane in Pensylvania and the plane that hit the Pentagon...I remember feeling truely afraid of what was going to happen next.
That day was a blur of fear and sadness unlike any I had ever felt. Powerless and unable to answer the questions why or how. At one point I remember thinking, "how could anyone ever explain this to a child". Schools were closing and adults were visibly shaken and kids are perceptive. How does one explain this evil to an innocent child when the adults around them couldn't understand it themselves?
Almost everything shut down and people were home with their loved ones as we waited, huddled around our TV's, to hear of survivors. People with family or friends in New York were scrambling to try to get in touch with them as we watched clouds of white smoke from the downed towers billow throughout the city.
There were four attacks that day. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for those attacks, that took the life of thousands. Now what were we to do? We had to carry on and respect and remember as best we know how but the world seemed different now. There is a whole generation that is growing up in a "post 9/11" society that seem to be aware of things that are way above their age level. It is sad and disheartening, to say the least, that a younger children not only know what a terrorist is but knows what Al-Qaeda is....unfortunately this is our reality now.
Children are made aware, at a young age, of terrorists and the horrors that happened right here in our country. We must remember and honor those who gave their lives but damn the Al-Qaeda for putting us in this position in the first place.
It is our duty and responsibility to make sure the history of what happened here lives on. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," - George Santayan.
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