September 12, 2001
What is there to say really after Tuesday’s attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon?
That it’s worse than Pearl Harbor?
The only thing that can be said with certainly is this – hundreds, probably thousands of innocent people lost their lives yesterday for no good reason.
At first, there was a kind of shock, as it was reported that a commuter plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York City. My first thought – how weird, what happened to that plane that would cause it to hit such a large object? Then, 18 minutes later, the other plane hit & we all instantly knew that this was no random happening. At this point, I am at work & the mood is somber for those that know what is happening. Those that haven’t heard yet quickly get up to speed. We were in shock, but thought that the worst was probably over.
When the next plane hit the Pentagon, not far from our office, panic began to set in. I met with our divisional manager as well as with my bosses in Richmond & indicated that I thought that the Federal Government was about to shut down. We put our non-existent emergency plan into action. I went downstairs to the computer room and began to pull whatever information I thought I might need to rebuild the systems should the worst occur. The recycling box was emptied on to the floor to make room for backup tapes of Federal data & program disks.
We then evacuated & went home to huddle by the news.
Now, 24 hours later I am still overwhelmed by conflicting feelings: sorrow, horror, disbelief, anger, depression. I would say that Anger is the prevailing feeling I have right now. The worst part of that aspect of this is that it is this unfocused anger. If we knew what or who was responsible, we could deal with that anger. 90% of Americans, according to the Washington Post, are ready to go to war, but we have nobody to fight. Our enemy is a phantom.
So, what can we do? Small things. Give blood (but call for an appointment first), fly the Flag, play with your kids. By far the most important thing that anyone can do right now is maintain a calm and positive attitude. While that sounds silly, it is imperative that we do not do anything rash just for the sake of doing something. We need to understand that individuals, not an ethnic group, did this to us. Intolerance of others and their beliefs is what caused this crisis in the first place. America was founded as a place where intolerance would not exist. To change that would give the terrorists the ultimate victory. Tell your kids what happened in a way that they will understand. Comfort them, teach them to love and tolerate others who are different so that we don’t go through this over and over.
I’m not naive enough to believe that this kind of an event could not or will not happen again. However, I’m damn sure that I’m not going to live my life in fear. It’s just not right.