Reflections on September 11
Sep. 11th, 2002 07:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfie_chanA lot of people are going to be writing in their LJs about 9/11/01. It's inevitable, and it's a good thing. I, of course, feel the need to do the same--to get out some of my thoughts on this day that's going to be so hard for so many.
I am not a patriotic person by nature. I tend to question anything that a large group of people is doing, and patriotism has certainly been on the rise this past year. Still, I've found that I am proud to be an American, despite all the crappy things this country has done to other people. America isn't perfect, any more than any other country, but there were people in this country who weren't afraid to go into burning buildings to save people they didn't even know, and I'm proud of that. Hundreds of firefighters, policemen, and even non-professionals risked death to save those who were trapped in the Towers, and many of those who risked death found it. They knew what they were doing--for many of them, they were simply doing their jobs. That doesn't make them any less heroes.
For me, September 11 is a day to remember those who died and to be thankful for those I love. I didn't lose anyone that I knew on September 11, but I was afraid that I would. My fiancee' (my boyfriend, then) was flying home from Pakistan on that day. He had been on a tour along the Silk Road from China to Pakistan, and his trip ended on September 11. I spent that day trying not to panic, praying that he was all right and that he wasn't on one of the planes that crashed. The next day, thank God, I received an e-mail that Alex was all right, stuck in Hong Kong. Today, I am so grateful that Alex is still with me.
My prayers are with the people of New York; I know this day will be especially hard for them. It amazes me how New Yorkers have pulled together to remember and rebuild, becoming stronger than they were before. All of America is trying to do this, but I have to say one thing: I don't think starting another war is going to fix our problems. We have to get to the root of what's happening, and I don't mean government investigations on who is part of the Al Queda (though that's important too, I expect). The terrorists of September 11 committed a horrible crime: killing thousands of innocent people. I would just like everybody to remember on this day that killing thousands more innocents is not going to bring loved ones back. People in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia and even Iraq are people, too. They have homes, families, and people they would die to protect. Attacking people is not the answer, as we discovered September 11. What is the answer? I don't know, but I think that learning about each other is part of it. I wish I could just solve the world's problems, but I can't.
Hrm. That was a bit more than I probably meant to say. One other thing is that I won't be able to turn on the TV today. I can't take those images anymore. The TV news stations have been playing the fall of the Towers over and over again, and I just can't stand it.
Love your friends and family today, and remember how blessed you are to have them. I love you guys.
I am not a patriotic person by nature. I tend to question anything that a large group of people is doing, and patriotism has certainly been on the rise this past year. Still, I've found that I am proud to be an American, despite all the crappy things this country has done to other people. America isn't perfect, any more than any other country, but there were people in this country who weren't afraid to go into burning buildings to save people they didn't even know, and I'm proud of that. Hundreds of firefighters, policemen, and even non-professionals risked death to save those who were trapped in the Towers, and many of those who risked death found it. They knew what they were doing--for many of them, they were simply doing their jobs. That doesn't make them any less heroes.
For me, September 11 is a day to remember those who died and to be thankful for those I love. I didn't lose anyone that I knew on September 11, but I was afraid that I would. My fiancee' (my boyfriend, then) was flying home from Pakistan on that day. He had been on a tour along the Silk Road from China to Pakistan, and his trip ended on September 11. I spent that day trying not to panic, praying that he was all right and that he wasn't on one of the planes that crashed. The next day, thank God, I received an e-mail that Alex was all right, stuck in Hong Kong. Today, I am so grateful that Alex is still with me.
My prayers are with the people of New York; I know this day will be especially hard for them. It amazes me how New Yorkers have pulled together to remember and rebuild, becoming stronger than they were before. All of America is trying to do this, but I have to say one thing: I don't think starting another war is going to fix our problems. We have to get to the root of what's happening, and I don't mean government investigations on who is part of the Al Queda (though that's important too, I expect). The terrorists of September 11 committed a horrible crime: killing thousands of innocent people. I would just like everybody to remember on this day that killing thousands more innocents is not going to bring loved ones back. People in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia and even Iraq are people, too. They have homes, families, and people they would die to protect. Attacking people is not the answer, as we discovered September 11. What is the answer? I don't know, but I think that learning about each other is part of it. I wish I could just solve the world's problems, but I can't.
Hrm. That was a bit more than I probably meant to say. One other thing is that I won't be able to turn on the TV today. I can't take those images anymore. The TV news stations have been playing the fall of the Towers over and over again, and I just can't stand it.
Love your friends and family today, and remember how blessed you are to have them. I love you guys.
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no subject
Date: 2002-09-11 02:34 pm (UTC)And by showing it too often, our senses get numbed...
After all, if you show a child violence, it will take more and more violence for him/her to get shocked.
It's a rape of the mind, if you ask me...