9/11

     Nine years ago today, the United States experienced the worst foreign attack in our history. Islamic terrorists used hijacked airliners to crash into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Thousands of lives were lost. Those brave passengers on the hijacked planes were killed along with the terrorists who murdered the innocent victims.
     My memory of September 11th is somewhat vague. I recall little more than walking into the living room, our family television screen on high volume, flashing pictures of one of the Twin Towers on fire. My parents told me what was going on, and my first reaction was shock. How could anyone have let this happen?
Not long after, I sat at the kitchen table, too worked up to eat, and watched--completely stunned and horrified--when the second plane hit the next tower.
     I was younger then, but I do remember quite plainly sitting there, terrified that our city would be next. When the plane hit the pentagon, my fears seemed to be confirmed. I can't really even say how much better I felt knowing that we had a President who--despite all of the faults he had--would protect us from the enemy.
    It's been a long nine years since the September 11th terrorist attacks. Yet the memory has not left me, and neither do I think it's at all wise to assume the terrorists won't be coming back. The horrible, and outright barbaric way that they attacked us was not just awful, it was exactly what their name implied: terrifying. They had to hijack passenger planes and kill innocent civilians who were guilty of nothing but going to work and trying to feed their families.
    People say every year, "we will not forget," but is that really true? Are we as united as we were on September 12th, or have we already forgotten what happened in New York City, on an ordinary Tuesday morning? Are we divided by race, politics, political party, and religion?
   For me, all I have to do to remember what the United States is and what we stand for is watch a video of the day the Twin Towers collapsed.
   Truly, we must never forget.

- The Liberty Belle