Editorial: How do you put 9/11 into words?

Talk about it

It’s hard to put into words the thoughts that echoed across the country on Sept. 11, 2001.

Looking through photos also leaves one without words. But the feeling is still there, the “what is going on, is this real” that reigned over the country on that morning. The morning that lives changed, scenery changed, rules changed.

It’s difficult to make sense of the events that made it hard to pull away from a TV and hard not to call those close to you and let them know you loved them, just in case.

The loss of nearly 3,000 lives by the downed Flight 93, the airliner that smashed into the Pentagon and jets pounding into the Twin Towers, causing them both to collapse a few hours later, certainly had more impact on those directly involved, but there’s no doubt it left its mark on the world.

Is there anything else from 10 years ago that you can remember with such detail — exactly where you were standing, what you were doing or eating, who you called — when you heard that the United States was under attack? Do you remember anything so vividly from five years ago, two months ago?

Let’s hope the younger generation doesn’t have to experience that sort of a memorable day, but will grow to understand what happened.

Thousands answered the call of duty on Sept. 11 and after: firefighters, soldiers, emergency responders and civilians. Many people changed their careers, joining the military, so they could fight those who tried to take the U.S. down.

There was much good, but there are still problems.

Is it fair to say the United States has come so far since the nearly incomprehensible acts?

Travelers spend more time and money on airport security, government officials have the right to tap into anyone’s phones, contractors have taken advantage of rebuilding efforts on site, there has been debate over the location of a mosque near Ground Zero, there are settlements being determined as workers at the site try to figure out if their maladies were caused by being there, the U.S. spends millions daily on military actions and soldiers are still dying overseas.

The war on terror may go on but the fact that we don’t dwell on it every waking minute is proof that the terrorists didn’t succeed in destroying our country. However, is it sad we don’t think of it more often?

Terrorists took so much from so many. But when it comes down to it, we still get up in the morning, put on our shoes, get into our cars and drive to work. We go out with our friends at night, take airliners on vacations and tuck into bed at night without thinking of Sept. 11 and terrorists.

We move forward as we must.

Dickinson Press Publisher Harvey Brock and Managing Editor Jennifer McBride are on The Press Editorial Board.

Tags: opinion, editorials