My morning routine on September 11, 2001 was no different than others before it – drinking coffee in front of the TV, reading several daily newspapers with the Today Show on in the background.
Suddenly, the drone of interviews and short pieces suddenly stopped. The television screen showed a tall building smoldering and Katie Couric’s voice over was describing the scene: a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers. At first, it seemed to be a small plane accident. My husband was walking out the door to work when I motioned him over to the TV.
“Look what happened. Isn’t that weird?” I told him.
He shrugged. My interest in disasters was not shared and this was another example of my morbid fascination when man or nature runs amok.
“Oh, mmmm. See ya.” Like so many others that day, he left without much of a second thought that this was more than a temporary incident. During that early morning, who really knew how 9/11 would reverberate through our nation and the world?
After the second plane hit, I called my employer to say I was going to be absent that day. When the third plane went down, I called my husband to tell him I thought the U.S. was under attack. But I only got his phone recorder. As a state worker, his department had already gone on alert.
Six years later, it’s hard to revisit the videos and stories of that day because I am so angry over the consequences. We have since learned that the Bush Administration ignored warnings of impending terrorist’s attacks, but very little blame has been placed on their ineptness.
Congress has relinquished portions of the Constitution in order to protect us from the unknown and the White House still uses the fear tactic of another terrorist attack to control legislation (and elections.)
We entered a no-win war in Iraq and Afghanistan where thousands upon thousands have died. Our country has become virtually bankrupted on the idea that Homeland Security starts in Iraq. That IOU is sure to become due soon.
The sacrifice of the victims of September 11th should be recognized as the day we secured our freedoms. So far in recent history, it has become the day we lost them.
What were you doing this day six years ago? What are your reflections?
