Photo Credit: NABUR by the Green Valley News & Sahuarita Sun
Yesterday was truly a day of honor & remembrance, especially for those who've been affected by the events twenty years ago on September 11. I'm grateful for this day to take the opportunity to share the thoughts & feelings that I have gained recently, relating particularly to yesterday. These are insights I'd like to share with everyone--my family & friends, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that I'm a part of, and everyone else worldwide.
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Twenty years ago, on September 11, it started like any normal day of the year. Everyone rose up in the morning to get ready for work, school, run errands, or travel where they were needed. Nobody expected anything but a calm, beautiful day on September 11. But at 8:46 a.m., that peaceful silence broke into devastating chaos with the sound of an explosion in Lower Manhattan of New York City. An American Airlines plane was hijacked by radical terrorists and driven into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Initially, everyone thought it was an accident until 17 minutes later, a United Airlines plane hit the South Tower. The minute the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center, everyone realized that those crashes were no accidents. America was under attack. Following the attacks on the Twin Towers, two more planes hit the following locations: the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and an empty field in Pennsylvania.
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Eyes were widened with shock as viewers watched the news. Screams filled every street in Manhattan as the people of New York witnessed the tragic horror taking place right in front of their own eyes. They'd seen the most horrific things that happened at the World Trade Center. Broken pieces of glass & debris flew everywhere as the Towers burned and injured some of the witnesses outside. Some of the victims trapped inside the towers jumped to their deaths rather than being burned alive. Then... Due to the extreme heat that melted or burned away the structure supporting the buildings, both towers collapsed one by one, trapping the first responders with those injured. So many lives were lost that tragic day. Besides the American people, others from different countries were mourning these tragedies because these attacks affected America and the whole world.
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Because of what happened on September 11, we know them as the 9/11 Attacks and call the day 9/11. But, there's another name for September 11 that is rather more victorious, and that name is Patriot Day. Patriot Day is a day to remember the sacrifices that the first responders--the firefighters, police, doctors, and paramedics-- made to help those in need. Even at the cost of their own lives, they bravely chose to put the needs of others first and give them the aid they needed. As a result, more people came together to assist those affected. Some were not essential workers like the firefighters and the police but were civilians. They were writers, artists, teachers, salespeople, musicians, unemployed, or homeless, yet they volunteered to help in any way they could. All these individuals--civilians and servicemen--were unique examples of unity on that day. They were the true heroes.
I greatly admire them for their heroism because they showed what it meant to be a true hero, what it meant to be a true patriot. They also taught us what it meant to live in a united nation regardless of race, color, religion, politics, culture, disability, age, or gender. Their actions reminded me of a scripture from The Pearl of Great Price, "And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them," (Moses 7:18).
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If only America would still follow the examples of those individuals. While it's hard to comprehend the evil the terrorists committed on 9/11, it's also hard to understand the current status of this blessed nation. Twenty years after the attacks, I look at America as it is now and feel dismayed by all of the prejudices, violence, hatred, and segregations invading this country.
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One of my biggest fears for America is that it will become a completely tyrannical government like China, or worse, the Middle East, where the terrorist groups are running their people with violence. Unfortunately, America is walking on that path, thanks to the actions of our current President and other political leaders. They claim to know what's best for America, but as we've seen, none of their past actions have shown that to us. They've only shown they're neither true Americans nor real patriots. Instead, they appear as the political wolves under sheep's clothing through lies, deceit, cowardice, and manipulation.
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If only every American could see and recall that our Founding Fathers never founded this country to be run in a dictatorship. It was established to be a united nation. It became a place for everyone from around the world to come to and live in peace with. It was also created to be a nation where we could freely worship God.
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One of my favorite TV series that I enjoy watching is Walker, Texas Ranger. While it's a show that came out in 1993 and may make me old-fashioned, I still love watching the series because of the important morals that I'd like to take with me wherever I go. One episode that I feel applies to our time today in America is titled, Patriot. In this episode, a white supremacist group violently barged into a TV station, holding everyone hostage while a live interview occurred. They forced the camera crew to continue recording their vile actions to give a message to America. They were claiming that they, themselves, were true patriots and the world was better off without people they deemed unfit to be human--people who were not white.
Fortunately, Walker came onto them and stopped every one of these individuals from what they were doing. Then, when asked by the cameraman what message he would give to America, Walker, facing the camera, said the following:
"America was created as a melting pot of people from all walks of life, from all over the world. It wasn't built on white supremacy or racial purity. Our country was built on tolerance, not hatred. America's based on freedom and justice. That's why people like that will never prevail."
This is a quote I like to read over and over so that I'm constantly reminded of what America truly is. It helps me remember my ancestors' sacrifices when they came to America to find refuge and freedom they couldn't have in their homelands. It helps me find the encouragement to keep serving my country and standing up for what is right, even if others don't agree with me and my beliefs. As I think about it, I wonder how terrorists like Al-Qaeda or ISIS would react when reading that quote from an American-made family show, and I'd try to imagine it. Of course, it wouldn't stop them from pursuing their "righteous causes." Still, I believe it would instill a small speck of fear when they see that we, the American people, are stronger than they realize. I have no doubt that those who helped at the 9/11 Attacks gave the same message.
It's almost hard to believe that I was only seven years old, three months away from turning eight, when the attacks happened. Even though I was only a little girl at the time, I still remember bits of it. In my home in northern Mexico, I remember walking into the old family room where my mom watched the news. When she turned her face towards me, I spotted the look of horror that she had. Despite how young I was, I knew something was wrong, so I asked her what happened, and then she told me. After that, I wrapped my arms around her, and we both hugged and cried.
As I grew older and learned more about the attacks, there were times I was angry over the evil that was done by Al-Qaeda. I wanted to condemn them and have them face misery as punishment for their actions. But when I learned about the good that people did on 9/11, I realized I wanted to focus more on improving myself as a human being who does good, not evil. For me, it's better to live in righteousness than wickedness. It's better to do good deeds to others, such as: saying kind words, helping those who can't help themselves, preparing meals for the poor, the needy, and the homeless, and being there for others who need a shoulder to cry on. When there comes a time that harm will be done, be prepared to stand up for what's right and not let others bring you down with their trespasses.
Twenty years later, I still mourn the tragic losses from 9/11 and am hurt by the malevolent acts that were carried out. I hope that someday all responsible for the tragedies will be caught so justice will be served. Afterward, I have faith that all terrorist organizations will fall out of power and cease to exist so the world can live in peace again. But for now, I will focus on helping our world become a better place today. Because of what I learned, I carry the knowledge of the good we can do to help our country be a safe, happy place when in the face of evil. We saw the darkness of sin on September 11, 2001, but we discovered something else that day--the light of goodness. It was more beautiful to look at than the thickest smokes that rose to the sky. It was much more victorious than the destruction that occurred. With that light, we can rise above our enemies and still be a united nation.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0743531/
(The Pearl of Great Price, 1851, Moses 7:18)
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