The Real Tribute to 9/11 Victims

I remember when I was little and my mom would tell me stories about where she was and what she was doing during different events in history. I remember her saying she was at school the day the JFK was shot. She described what she was wearing and whose class she was in. My mom said she could close her eyes and go back in time like it had happened yesterday. I naively thought that would never be me. I would never tell those stories to my kids. I was wrong.

On September 11, 2001 I woke up to the TV already on. I had gotten home from work in the early hours of the morning and I must have fallen asleep with the TV on. A news broadcast was on with a live feed of the World Trade Center. It appeared that a plane had crashed into the side of one of the buildings. I called my mom to see if she watching and ask what was going on. We sat there for a minute listening to the anchors try to figure out what was happening when the second plane hit. At that point it was obvious that the buildings had been attacked.

Over the next half hour reports started coming in that there were other planes around the country that had been hijacked. By that time the whole country was watching in terror. Not knowing what else to do I got dressed and went to school. I sat in class with three other students for about ten minutes. Someone finally came in and said the college was canceling classes for the day. I drove a block over to the mall where my boyfriend worked to let him know and they had just announced the mall was closing as well.

We went home and turned on the news. We watched the events unfold on TV with millions of our fellow Americans. We hardly ate or slept. We went through the motions every day fulfilling our obligations, but we were in shock. The air was thick with sorrow, fear, and patriotism. For the first time in my lifetime we showed no diversity. We were as united of a nation as there had ever been. For all of us our blood ran red, white, and blue. We displayed American flags everywhere we could fit them. We attached red, white, and blue ribbons to all of our vehicles in solidarity with those in New York.

It was a much grander scale than the fleeting sense of community after a hurricane. You know the week where all the neighbors stop bickering to help each other generators, chainsaws, and supplies. You could see it in the eyes of others all around you. You could feel it. It was sustained for a while, but over time we lost it.

Every year this date rolls around and people change their profile pics to support those effected by 9/11. I know because I do it too. The truth is that we were all effected, and this country has never been the same. There is nothing you can do for the families of those lost that day that are still suffering. We say that we want to honor and pay tribute, but in reality we have failed them, immensely. Initially their deaths meant something to us deep inside. They lit a burning, raging fire inside of us. They drove us to be better people, better Americans. We helped, trusted, supported, and loved each other. Sadly, we have lost that. A better way to pay tribute to those killed on 9-11 and their families is to remember why we stood together as a country in the first place and commit ourselves to living that every day, not just this day.