Editorial: Remembering 9/11 through our actions, thoughts, courage

By Laura Hancq
September 17, 2011

A decade. Ten years ago. While it seems like only yesterday our lives were forever changed, in actuality, quite a lot of time has passed.

Most of the children who lost their parents on Sept. 11, 2001 are now young adults who have grown up without a parent. Most of the adults who lost spouses, children, relatives, co-workers, neighbors or friends have had to live with a heavy heart from absence.  Even if you didn’t lose a loved one on that day, all American citizens still carry a sense of loss: a loss of security, a loss of trust, a loss of innocence.

Here at the Loquitur, most of the editorial staff was in fifth grade on the fateful day. Many of us remember parents coming to pick us up from school, teachers doing their best to pretend everything was fine while nervously checking cellular devices and the principal coming around to take away children who had parents who worked in New York.

While hopefully nothing will ever match the confusion and emotion felt by all of us on that day, both are still very much a part of a us, 10 years later, as we are on the downward stretch of our college careers.

For the past few weeks we have been hearing phrases in light of the anniversary such as “Always Remember, Never Forget.” We at the Loquitur believe that while we will never forget, we could do a better job of remembering.

In the case of any great tragedy or life-altering event, there is a difference between forgetting and actually remembering.

Being that most of us were ten years old when 9/11 happened, we may not remember everything perfectly or accurately from that day, but the one thing we can all recall is that in the days following the attacks, this country was brimming with national pride and respect for the fellow man. Every value that our forefathers possessed came back to life in full swing in the post 9/11 days. Even as scared and confused ten-year-olds, we could realize the great unification of the peoples of this country. Whether we saw it in school or how people were friendly on the roads, this country was a better place. While 9/11 was terrible, this after-effect was incredible.

As the children of the 9/11 era, we believe there is a reason this one thing has stuck with all of us throughout our growth and maturation. The one thing that was greater than our confusion, our anger and our sadness. The desire to come together as Americans to be the very people we are supposed to be, to lead the very lives our forefathers wanted us to lead. Lives full of kindness, generosity and citizenship.

Let’s remember by living this. Not just on the anniversary, but everyday of our lives. We owe it to ourselves, to our fellow man, to our country and especially to those Americans who lost their lives. We can’t let our patriotism and our values only come out in a time of tragedy. Our sense of self and security is dependent on this.

“Always Remember, Never Forget.”

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Laura Hancq

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