September 11, 2001. Just reading that date, hearing it in a classroom or in any conversation, I am taken back to my freshman year of high school where my family’s worst nightmare came to surface. Living only twenty miles out of New York City, I was bound to know at least a handful of people who were killed on that tragic morning. Instead, this horrific attack on the United States hit home when my cousin, Firefighter Tommy Foley, made the ultimate sacrifice when he entered the south tower of the World Trade Center and was killed when the building came tumbling down. Five years later it is clear to me that many people who weren’t directly affected by that dreadful day are able to go on like it never happened at all. How quickly people forget something that changed our country’s way of life and brought us to our knees.
Recently, when people find out that I was related to someone that was killed on 9/11, I am asked if I have gone to see movies that have recently been made about the events that occurred that day. Yes, I have and I am so happy that I did. Some people feel that it is too soon for these movies to be put out, but I feel that if people should be constantly reminded that this event happened and that people from New York City, Washington D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania were not the only people who were attacked on 9/11. The United States of America was attacked. That is why on the fifth year anniversary when I went home to New York and walked down the ramp into the construction zone where the twin towers once stood, there were fifty state flags blowing in the breeze.
Films like “World Trade Center” and “United 93” are movies that are dedicated to people who faced death and those who were just doing their job. I know that when I went to see “World Trade Center” I was able to understand what I didn’t before. Things like how being a police officer or a fireman is not only a job, but a mentality and a lifestyle. Most people would run away from a burning building- they ran towards it. When I watched “United 93” I was able to clearly see the heroism in the selected few that decided to fight back, but also the fear and the heartache of the loved ones who were called and found out that their husband, wife, son, or daughter were not going to be coming home ever again. I feel that it is important to recognize these strong individuals and the terror that they faced and also to honor them. I am so happy that these movies have come out, and I would encourage everyone to see them. Some may think that it is too soon, but I think that it is too soon to forget those individuals and that day, but unfortunately, people have forgotten.
This country has changed because of September 11th, 2001 and as a citizen of this country, all of our lives should be altered. This country will never forget, families will never forget, and I will never ever forget.
