A Day We All Remember
September 9, 2011 (Friday)
As we approach this weekend, we are well aware that Sunday will be the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the United States. The day has a name all its own: “Nine eleven.” When we hear that, we know that it means “September 11, 2001.”
Wanda and I had developed some habits of our own that would normally have precluded our being witnesses of the event together. Usually I was the one who watched the morning news and talk shows, while Wanda was busy about the house, taking care of her sewing, plants, etc. If she watched TV in the morning, it was usually one of the shopping channels. On that morning, she joined me in the den where I was watching the Today Show, and we were engaging in conversation. We looked up at the screen as Matt and Katie narrated the camera’s view of the North Tower of the World Trade Center that had been hit by a plane. We saw the hole in the side of the building and the smoke. As we watched, and talked about it, the other plane came from behind and caused the horrific explosion in the South Tower. I said to Wanda, “That has to be Terrorism,” and she agreed. That moment has ingrained itself into our national consciousness as no other event ever has.
We gradually learned of the crash at the Pentagon and the plane that was brought down in Pennsylvania, as brave passengers attempted to wrest control from the hijackers, keeping it from crashing into The White House or the Capitol Building. It was an awful day in American history.
We should not allow ourselves to forget the unity of Americans that followed the events of that tragic day. We should attempt to remember the sudden confessions of faith by many, when we realized how fragile life is, and how suddenly we can lose our loved ones, or be taken ourselves. We should jog our memories of how other nations stood with us and grieved over our losses. We need to fix our eyes and hearts on what is great and noble in America, being thankful for our country, and doing what we can to make it even better. This anniversary can be a strong reminder to us that the U.S.A. is a beacon for human dignity that calls for our rededication as individuals to a strong mutual respect that honors God and country.