The thoughts running through my head at that moment I could never put into words. I pulled up a chair and began to watch the events of the day unfold. I saw them inform our President in front of a class full of children what had happened. I heard the calls come in that the very symbol of our security the Pentagon was hit. Again all I could say was "Oh my God." I called my brother’s house to get ahold of Mom. My brother answered still half asleep and I started telling him what was going on that he had to watch the news and to wake up Mom.
I then made some coffee and sat and watched the news with my Dad and cried. Thoughts of the terror the people in the planes must have felt, the terror the people in the towers and on the ground felt all raced through my mind. All I could do was cry.
I listened to the news that all planes were being grounded. In our history that had never happened before. Little did I know how many things that had never been done before would happen on that day and the days to follow.
Before the President boarded Air Force One I listened to him speak for the first time about the events which were unfolding he sounded just as confused as I felt. They whisked him away to different military bases and the next thing I heard was that he was in an underground bunker. Talk about fear. To know your President is in an underground bunker things can not be good.
I then heard that another plane had crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Only later would we understand why it had not hit a building also. There were heroes on that plane that probably saved many lives as well as our Capital or The White House itself.
As I watched the towers fall, all I could think of were the people that were dying before my eyes. I remember screaming and crying when they came down, I knew from that moment on that me beliefs about safety, security and our untouchable nation were forever changed.
Reports started coming in about the number of lives that could have been lost. How at that time of morning the towers normally had ten thousand people in each one. They were also reporting how many may have been able to evacuate the towers. I listened to reports about other buildings that were collapsing, but thank God they had already been evacuated. I had been hearing about all the Police Officers and Fire Fighters that may have been killed. To think these men and women were running into the buildings to save lives yet risking their own when others were running out saving themselves. These are our true heroes.
That day America stopped, our planes no longer flew in the sky, our stock market closed, all sports stopped, Americans stayed home from work and school. No commercials were played on TV, no happy sitcoms were shown. We were seeing what true hate can do and the destruction it can cause not only to a few buildings but also to every person in our nation and in the world. Every country who may have felt safe from these acts now knows it too can happen to them.
A few nights after the attacks, my Dad and I went out in front of our home with some of our neighbors and held a candle light vigil. As we reflected on the events over the last few days a plane flew overhead. I thought to myself what a beautiful sight that was. To me it showed that the terrorists had not beaten us. Never again will I see a plane in the sky and not think of the events on that tragic day.
I have seen many flags being flown over businesses, homes, and on cars. Never have I felt such pride in our flag. Sad I know, but until September 11, 2001 I never really thought about what it symbolized. To me it symbolizes freedom, strength, unity, pride and most of all hope. However it also symbolizes to me lives lost. Not just lives lost on September 11th but lives lost on battlefields over the last two hundred and twenty-five years. Lives lost so we as Americans can have the rights and freedoms we have today. For that I thank them all.
I am writing this on the two week anniversary of the tragic events of September 11th and the feelings I have are still the same as that day; fear, disbelief, dread, sorrow and anger. It seems we are heading into a war. A war that can not be defined other than to say that it is a war against all terrorists. A war that may last for years. To know that we were attacked and many people killed because of hate and then we have Muslims and Middle Eastern people attacked in our own country, how sick is that. We say the events of that day were so wrong, how could anyone hate that much yet it is being done to our own people. We have come together as a nation yet some even though they are few do not understand what coming together really means. What I can tell you is it does not mean to yell at, whisper about, vandalize, attack or kill those in our country who had nothing to do with any of this.
Over my 25 years I have had many heroes. One that has never changed is Martin Luther King Jr. because he stood for unity, non-violence and loving all people no matter the race or religion. Now I have many more heroes. They are the Police Officers and Firefighters all over this nation. Men and women who put their lives on the line everyday to protect us from harm. Please find a way to thank them for all that they do.
The events of that day changed America and Americans forever. Or at least I hope it has. We as American’s take so many things for granted, our freedom, feeling safe, our firefighters, our policemen, our families, our military, planes in the sky and so much more. The moment we forget the acts of that day is the moment our people died for nothing. I went to bed that Monday night under a blanket of security that is pulled over the United States. The blanket that says go to sleep my child you are safe nothing can harm you. I woke up that Tuesday morning and that blanket had been stripped off me.
What I have learned from all of this is that I am very proud to be an American. I will go to my grave knowing that. Knowing that there is no greater nation and knowing that above the few that hate, this nation is built on love and we will do anything we have to in order to protect that.
I have never lived through anything like this and I pray to God I never will again.
Christa Lee
On September 11 my world forever changed
I watched in horror, terror and grief
unblinking eyes saw innocent people die
a sorrow smothered my soul beyond belief
and I wept ...
An evil beyond understanding
had come to my very door
bringing images incomprehensible
shaking life to it's very core
Two planes flew with deadly aim into twin towers
people jumped from a hundred stories high
I held my breath ... my blood ran cold
tears flooded my heart as my mind wrestled this lie
and I wept ...
People stared deep into the eyes of a personal hell
rescuers bravely fought through fear
all tried to escape their sarcopogus of death
but evil blinked showing death so very clear
Buildings collapsed in fiery explosions and soundless screams
lives were stolen by twisting metal and crushing stone
families listened through tears in utter agony
to words of "oh God" ... "I Love You" ... "Goodbye" ... by phone
and I wept ...
Even more loved ones on the ground and in the air
were destined to be taken this horrible day
inhumanity seething with hate on a mission of murder
looked to the Pentagon and in a plane over a field in PA
United 93 was taken hostage to support an insidious sickness
hero's fought back against this unconscionable act
knowing that death would be their final destination
they gave their lives as payment to stop that perverted pact
and I wept ...
What belief has a cornerstone so flawed
that killing decent innocent people would be
the way to achieve a perverted hideous goal
based on such an inhumane and immoral decree
These attacks have torn at the fabric of our heart
but those that brought this will find us not in defeat
for the fibers of freedom are wound deep in our soul
even when our very blood is spilled in the street
and i wept ...
It is obvious the rules have now been changed
twisted beliefs furthering their demonic cause
wrongly believing the end justifies the means
defiling both human and God's laws
When depraved minds attack our shores
we will defend our nation against any foe
decency will always overcome evil
a lesson every madman will come to know
Just as darkness takes a shadow
and the sun can not hold it's breath
some may run but none can hide
forever scented by the dark perfume of death
Understand very clear this message
no middle ground nor mercy shall there be
stand as our friend without equivication
or suffer the consequences as our enemy
Our symbol flies high and proud
America's character shown in red white and blue
the stars and stripes will not be held captive
wrapped deep within was sewn all we hold true
Our valor and strength are shown in red hue
the purity of souls gone before is placed in white
our stars the hope of a divine goal to which we aspire
while blue holds justice for all that is right
As we wrap our flag to heal these wounds
the look of hate we shall remember well
for ours is a path of dignity and freedom
unlike that which was spawned in hell
Our people stand committed
the choice is simple for the USA
as American's we stand in unison and shall not rest
for there is a debt owed these criminals must pay
We shall always remember the ones who were taken
etched also in our memory the contempious face of hate
as dawn slowly flows from beneath the veil of night
wounds may heal tho not the scar of that fateful date
Freedom and fear will always remain at war
and tho our heads may now be bowed in sorrow
our spirit within is far from being broken
have no doubt ... America will be standing tall on the morrow
Tomorrow will dawn brighter than today
for hate and savagery have not won
we will neither be held hostage nor forget
I say this without equivication because ... I am American
and with pride I wept ...
Gary White
I say a prayer for you tonight.
For those who died at dawn's first light,
And those who lived, to bear the pain,
Perhaps they'll never "live" again,
I pray for those who rushed in aid,
Angry, yes, but unafraid,
Frustrated by the fires of Hell,
But searching for someway to tell,
The devils that had caused this wrong,
That we will sing a different song,
We care about our fellow man,
We offer up a friendly hand,
To those that want to be our friends,
Our gratitude then knows no ends,
But to those who innocents will kill,
We say to you, we've had our fill,
We're tired of you and for what you stand,
And we look up now to God's right hand,
Where sits our savior, dressed in white,
Who stands for all that's just and right,
And beg him to forgive the weak,
That we are when we think such speak,
Of when they cut us to the core,
That we'd arise with words like War,
But how much can a soul now take,
As with our tears, we lay awake,
And love our friends, though we knew them not,
That died today in the fires so hot,
I want revenge, I want it now,
Let's kill them all, someway, somehow,
But who? And where? And when? Or why?
Again, for them, I sit and cry,
What can I do, what can I say,
To express the grief I feel today?
I am but one, my voice is weak,
Only my Lord can hear me speak,
Raise up your voice, to Him on high,
Let him know the time is nigh,
To stop this evil sadistic raid,
On freedom's solid colonnade,
My Lord, My God, please hear me sing,
God bless us all, Let freedom ring.
Ron Hoyt
by Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Miami Herald
"It's my job to have something to say. They pay me to provide words that
help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this
moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only
thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be
addressed to the unknown author of this suffering.
"You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard.
"What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our
World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would
learn? Whatever it was, please know that you failed.
"Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
"Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
"Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
"Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family,
a family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family
nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous
emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae -- a singer's revealing dress, a ball
team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse. We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the
ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that,
we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are
fundamentally decent, though -- peace-loving and compassionate. We
struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming
majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God.
"Some people -- you, perhaps -- think that any or all of this makes us
weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways
that cannot be measured by arsenals.
"Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're
still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working
to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some
Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel.
Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable
final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of
terrorism in the history of the United States and, probably, the history
of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before.
"But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us
fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last
time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt
and monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage,
terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will
bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.
"I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with dread of the future.
"In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation,
fingers pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and
what can be done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened
security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from
this moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined.
"You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of
our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On
this day, the family's bickering is put on hold.
"As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as
Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish.
"So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that
maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's
the case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange:
You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of. You
don't know what you just started.
"But you're about to learn."
Widespread but only partial news coverage was given
recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from
Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television
commentator. What follows is the full text of his
trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional Record:
"This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the
Americans as the most generous and possibly the least
appreciated people on all the earth.
Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and
Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the
Americans who poured in billions of dollars and
forgave other billions in debts. None of these
countries is today paying even the interest on its
remaining debts to the United States.
When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956,
it was the Americans who propped it up, and their
reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets
of Paris. I was there. I saw it.
When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the
United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59
American communities were flattened by tornadoes.
Nobody helped.
The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped
billions of dollars! into discouraged countries. Now
newspapers in those countries are writing about the
decadent, warmongering Americans.
I'd like to see just one of those countries that
is gloating over the erosion of the United States
dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country
in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo
Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10?
If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the
International lines except Russia fly American Planes?
Why does no other land on earth even consider putting
a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese
technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German
technocracy, and you get automobiles.
You talk about American technocracy, and you find
men on the moon -! not once, but several times -
and safely home again.
You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs
right in the store window for everybody to look at.
Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded.
They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless
they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American
dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.
When the railways of France, Germany and India
were breaking down through age, it was the Americans
who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and
the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an
old caboose. Both are still broke.
I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced
to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name
me even one time when someone else raced to the
Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside
help even during the San Francisco earthquake.
Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one
Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get
kicked around. They will come out of this thing with
their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled
to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating
over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of
those."
Stand proud, America!
By Martina McBride
Let Freedom ring. Let the white doves sing.
Let the whole world know that today is a day of reckoning.
Let the weak be strong, let the right be wrong.
Roll the stone away, let the guilty pay.
It's Independance Day.
