Remembering 9/11 and The Real America

As memorial events take place all over the country to remember the horrific attacks on American soil by a group of terrorists hell-bent on destroying America's economy and ensuring we live in fear, most of us will have a somber moment or two remembering those powerful scenes streaming on our television sets.

We will remember the frantic calls to family members who still live in New York and the feelings of powerlessness to stop the nightmare from evolving beyond the containment of one city.

It was not to be, the orchestrated attacks came in three. The Pentagon and Pennsylvania took additional hits  It was not meant to happen here, in our country.  We don't know how to deal with this, we said to ourselves.  We are not a third world country accustomed to car bombings and daily unrest, we thought.   This is America! - We are untouchable.

Well, it did happen and many other attacks have been thwarted thanks to an intelligence system that has become more adept to using brains, knowledge, and knowing the enemy than using brute force.  But it has all come to a high cost.  The lives lost are priceless, the families are forever changed and the rescuers are horribly sick. Many have died or are dying from the fumes filled with carcinogens and particles embedded permanently in their lungs.

We will all chose to remember something; a photograph, a video clip, a loved one.  We might even recall how we felt when we saw or heard about it, where we were and who we were with at the time.  What I want to remember is the reactions of our every day citizens, the ones who no one talks about on television or radio programs.

We all know who they are; they don't have a uniform and don't belong to a rescue team or have any military training: They are our neighbors and I thought we should pause for a moment and think about them and send a thought, a prayer or, a wish of gratitude for what they did and for making our world a better place to live.

I remember ordinary people in California reacting quickly and throwing whatever they thought could help in the back of their cars and drive across the country to help dig through the rubble.

I remember a former police officer, friend of the family, who drove to Nevada in record time to pick up my father-in-law, who was visiting and unable to catch a flight back to San Francisco and be with his wife of over 50 years.  My father-in-law slept next to his wife that night.

I remember the nurses at our doctor's office who took an immediate leave of absence and took off for New York to help heal, comfort and treat survivors and rescuers.

I remember Cuba offering their highly trained medical personnel and being turned down by our government.

I remember the anguish of long hours before I got news of my brothers, niece, cousins, nephews and my mom.

I remember crying.

Most of all, today and tomorrow, I remember us.

I remember the Americans we can be when a disaster strikes, not because there is money in it, not because there is glory in it, but because we are that way regardless of who we are or affiliate with in peaceful times.  Even when we don't want to show it, we care and know that when we are needed, we can get out of our comfort zone and jump with both feet to lend more than just a hand, we give with our souls.

Ten years after 9/11/2001 - America, I remember you.

PEACE - Olivia 


Image by Flickr user TheMachineStops (CC BY-SA 2.0)  via Wikimedia Commons