There have been a variety of specials on this week regarding the events of 9/11. Most recounting the event itself, a few tales of "where were you" , and many over how it happened. I personally can recount every detail of that day and have in this very blog (see Sept. 2010), but it's not just about one day it's more about the feelings that arise when you talk about it. The tragedy, fear, sadness, confusion, and anger that arose from that will never be forgotten. My one biggest fear, however, is that we'll forget what "good" came from that day.
There were so many emotions that have been associated with that day. Sadness at the loss, fear of what would happen next, confusion simply because we had no idea what was happening, and of course, just plain anger. Amazingly though in the middle of this mixture of clouded emotions, a ray of light peeked through filled with compassion, courage, kindness, unity, and pride. Courage came through almost immediately as you watched the first responders (Firefighters, police) rush into the buildings. There is one photo in particular that has become somewhat famous of a firefighter climbing the stairs heading for the belly of the beast. As so many New Yorkers were fleeing the area, the rescue teams kept heading in. There's the story of the co-workers of a wheelchair bound man, they carried him down the stairs to safety from high atop the WTC. At the Pentagon, a Lt. Colonel that ran inside repeatedly to save victims. A Staff Sergeant and cook who also ran back inside. The days and weeks that followed were just as courageous. Let's not forget all the rescue workers who braved the smoke and debris to hopefully find survivors or at the very least retrieve bodies. Over 100 dogs were used in search and rescue between the Pentagon and WTC . Everytime a dog came out for a break, it wasn't long before these heroic canines were up and ready to head back in almost like they really understood and knew what had happened. Of course, who will ever forget the courage of the passengers of flight 93. The stories are as endless as the courage.
Compassion and kindness are all too often forgotten except in time of crisis. Those fateful events on that Tuesday morning created an air of compassion and kindness that haven't really evaporated even as of today. You could see compassion and kindness from the very beginning. Not only see it , but hear it. The voices of the news reporters while obviously shaken by what they were seeing unfold, their voices remained a calming factor. The President (regardless of how anyone felt about him) showed the greatest compassion early on. He was visiting a school, during a storytelling he recieved the news. Anyone watching could see the anger being held back, he waited 10 minutes till the children were finished before excusing himself to be briefed on the situation. Some have criticized this decision, but truth was he was afraid that if the President jumped up quickly and reacted rashly he would scare the children. Remaining calm is one the best forms of compassion one can give. Shortly after the 1st Tower fell, Father Mychal Judge, a chaplain of the NYFD, was carried alerady dead from the rubble in a desk chair by firefighters and civilians. He was casualty number 0001. Did they have to retrieve the body at that moment...compassion and kindness told them YES. Compassion and kindness came in so many forms that day and the days and even months that followed. It was volunteers passing out water, food, socks, and shoes out to the rescue workers who were combing through debris for months. The multitude of firefighters, police, medical staffs,search and rescue crews, construction workers, or just plain volunteers who came from not just all over the US, but from all over the world. And perhaps the strangest thing I remember was a Super Bowl beer commercial 4 months later that aired only once that had the famous Clydesdale horses of Budweiser trotting up to the edge of New York and bowing in remembrance...even a commercial can show compassion. Just walking around for several months afterwards, people were kinder to each other, more willing to help someone out even if they didn't know them.
Unfortunately, nothing unites people like tragedy, that being said, the unity that was brought about following the attacks is almost hard to describe. It wasn't just flag-waving or patriotic singing it was so much more and not just across one country, but the world really. Honestly, it's still noticeable today. There are a few things that stick out more than anything from those first few days. One thing was watching our congress standing united...not seperated by republican or democrat...singing "God Bless America" unplanned and heartfelt. They were off key and none would have made it through American Idol, but it was beautiful nonetheless and exactly what we as Americans needed to see...our leaders united. On the morning of September 12th, I remember noticing more flags on houses, flags on cars, and flag pins..flags were everywhere. Of course, the ones on buildings were at half mast for mourning, but still the flags started popping up everywhere for months. Everyone, no matter race, ethnicity, etc, was standing untied. United We Stand became our motto through this crisis, but truth be told for at least a short time it wasn't just our motto...the world seemed to be with us. I remember tearing up a bit as I watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace perform the Star Spangled Banner. The world, for the most part, seemed to unite with us in our mourning and grief and not solely because of the 372 international victims lost in the attacks. Unity is a strong and powerful thing.
Pride is considered to be both a virtue and a vice, but in the case of 9/11 it's strictly a virtue and one of the reasons that good has triumphed over evil. The attacks of 9/11 undoubtedly changed the world. They changed the way we travel and changed our sense of security. In that sense, the terrorists may have won a small victory, but we've already won the war. No, the war on terror is not over in fact far from it. , but victory can sometimes hide in something as seemingly small as the spirit. Yes, they killed our people, tore down our buildings and changed many of our habits. Our spirit, however, they did not destroy, in fact they only made it stronger. While we may complain as that one power hungry airport security guy makes us take off our shoes for the 3rd time, in the back of our minds we have to remember he's taking some pride in his job...pride that may actually keep us safe. Pride can save lives, pride can give you courage...the passengers of flight 93 propelled them to stop the terrorists from killing even more. Almost immediately the little things made us pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and hold our heads up high and the big things such as the courage of first responders and the flight 93 passengers told us we would defeat whatever they threw at us . They tried to take away our pride, but they only helped our pride reinforce our spirit. We didn't roll over. We didn't cower in a corner. We reached out and helped each other. We smiled when we saw the flag and our hearts filled when we heard the national anthem or other patriotic songs. They didn't change who we are. Nothing filled me with more pride than seeing our flag at full staff the morning of October 12th, when the 30 days of mourning ended. They may have forced us to change the rules a bit, but they didn't change the fact that we can be kind, compassionate, courageous, and united...and that's something to take pride in and not just the US, but the world as well.
