* I wrote this last night because I couldn't sleep.
I remember where I was on September 11, 2001. I was sitting in my Spanish class not paying attention to the teacher when an announcement came on saying a plane had hit the World Trade Center. The thought then was still that it was some kind of tragic, freak, accident. By the time I made my way to 3rd period two planes had hit and all the classes had stopped trying to teach anything and we were all just watching the news. I remember people saying “there’s no way this will be on all the channels. I’m sure MTV will still show other stuff” in a nonchalant way that only a generation as privileged, comfortable, and spoiled as ours could have been. As it turned out that was not the case and I don’t think any of us could really grasp the seriousness of the situation the way many of our older teachers could. There was nothing like that in our lives. For the most part we had been sheltered from major wars, nuclear war scares, racism, police brutality, drafts, terrorist attacks etc… and all that changed on September 11, 2001. As I type this my eyes are getting blurry with tears as I think about all the people that lost their lives on that day and what the events of that day set into motion.
Tonight, while watching Real Housewives of Orange County and the rest of my usual trashy Sunday night TV there was announcement on Twitter that President Obama would be making a statement about something. At first no one was really concerned but then things kept leaking about how it had to do with national security and then came the big rumors; they had found and killed Bin Laden. Once this was confirmed I was so excited! I don’t think I can properly express what I was feeling but the closest I can say to the feeling was pure happiness. Quickly these feelings changed and my first thought was revenge from all the Al Qaeda supporters on the US and troops overseas. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the level of different emotions I’ve felt tonight at any other time in my life. The current emotions I’m sitting with are anxiety and annoyance.
The annoyance stems from the amount of bullshit (I’m sorry but I’m not going to sugarcoat it because that’s simply what it is) that I’ve seen on Facebook/Twitter tonight. Ranging from Republicans saying it’s a conspiracy, to Democrats throwing it in Bush supporters faces that Obama got things done, to people complaining that it took too long to get him, to people complaining about their gas prices, to people complaining about their newsfeeds and timelines being full of talk about Bin Laden and to all of that I say, STFU! Something significant happened tonight, while everyone was throwing around the word “historic” during the royal wedding this past Friday an actual historical event happened tonight. A man that killed over 3000 people and forever changed American history was finally found and killed AND this was done without losing any US soldiers lives. This is a significant event in history that has nothing to do with political party affiliation or any trivial thing like that. This is one of those moments where I will tell my kids exactly where I was when this happened. They will change textbooks to explain what happened tonight and yet people still do not comprehend the significance. I want to jump through my computer screen and shake people until they get it. This is big. This is worthy of some kind of celebration or at the very least acknowledgement of all the time, effort, energy, and lives it took to get to this. And while I don’t think it’s proper to celebrate the death of someone I think Mark Twain put it best when he said “I’ve never wished death upon someone but there have been some obituaries I was happy to read.”
This brings me to my anxiety, the troops. I have a soft spot in my heart for the military. I think it’s because I have military men in my family and living in San Antonio for over 4 years (home to an army and air force base) I have a lot of military friends. I have immense respect for people that do something; I simply don’t think I could do. They risk their lives every day to protect our freedom and keep us safe. They do the dirty work so the rest of us can go about our business complaining about stupid things like grades, boys, money, gas, etc… The announcement of the death of Osama Bin Laden puts so many troops in danger. They are overseas in some of the areas where Al Qaeda supporters and sympathizers are and they will be the FIRST to be retaliated against. I’m worried, and while I don’t know anyone personally overseas I feel as if every person over there is my brother/sister/fiancé/mom/dad or whatever. They’re part of me. I worry for them and when they lose their lives I mourn for them.
When the President addressed the union he ended by saying part of the pledge of allegiance, “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Aside from 9/11 one of the major things I remember happening during that time was unity that people had. We truly were one nation under God and tonight justice was achieved for all the victims of that horrific day. So I guess what I’m saying is let us try and act more like we did then. Let’s try and forget so much of the petty political drama that is going on and remember that while the suits are arguing in Washington the troops are risking their lives and fighting their fight. So regardless of what you feel about the war, regardless of what you feel about the president, can we all just try and band together. Can we all just try and help each other out? Can we all just try and truly be ONE NATION, UNDER GOD, and INDVISIBLE? Go out there and do something for the people in Alabama, do something for your neighbor, do something for the troops, just do something.
Something big happened tonight people and while I’m feeling a range of emotions one I’m very thankful for is relief. This is the end of one long fight and probably the beginning of another but regardless I think a sense of peace was brought to the families of the victims of 9/11. Remember that when you’re complaining about how long it took or how much you hate Obama or why Bush couldn’t get things done and all your other petty complaints you’re launching into the social networking atmosphere. I thank all the troops who gave their lives during the last 10 years to keep me safe and my prayers, thoughts, good vibes, and any other positive energy I can send, are with the ones still fighting. I hope one day soon we can bring you all home safely. I pray for a day when kids will read history books and think “wow that generation was so silly, I can’t believe they had wars.” I hope that all the sacrifices of generations before me and maybe even generations after me will one day lead to world peace. It may be a naïve thing to hope for but without hope what do you have?
So with that, I’m going to bed. I don’t know what I will wake up to tomorrow but for now I am thankful to the President of the United States for giving me a little bit of peace of mind & the troops that helped accomplish this goal. I’m thankful that I can lay my head down on my pillow and know that one less bad guy is out there.
GOD BLESS THE USA, GOD BLESS THE TROOPS, & GOD BLESS THE VICTIMS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001.
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