10 Years

I know there are going to be a ton of these posted on Sunday... but I don't generally blog on the weekend and I wanted to make sure I paid tribute to those who deserve it.

First off... I hate the media, I hate that they take 9/11 and re-play scenes from that day over and over, they give sound bytes from last phone calls, show the planes crashing and people jumping from the towers, the Pentagon missing a huge chunk, etc. While this is the reality of what happened on that day, I can't imagine how painful it is for those of the 3,000 families that lost someone that day. Sure they could avoid newspapers, magazines, television, the internet, and radio that day... but should they have too?

I'm not saying we shouldn't remember. That we shouldn't see those images. That we shouldn't know what happened. What happened is that the United States of America was attacked. On that day we learned what it was like for the rest of the world (except maybe Canada?) who deal with terrorists on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. We were no longer "invincible," "untouchable," "unreachable," on that day we mourned.

A year ago I was browsing the local DollarTree and ran across this book:

amazon.com

I don't know how it ended up there or why I was fortunate enough to purchase it for only $1.00... but I did. I'm very happy to own it. It is amazing to see how the children of NY (esp. those who lost a family member) were affected. The book has artwork drawn by them, quotes from them, and was published just a year after the attacks in 2002.

One of my favorite passages from the book comes from Imam Abdul Malik (pg. 121):

"Life and death are both parts of the human experience. There is no way to know life without death; they are two sides of the same reality. September 11, 2001, has reminded us of this universal truth. On that day, some lived and died without knowing their purpose; others struggled to save the lives of their fellow citizens. They all died fulfilling their higher calling. Many gave their lives so others may live in freedom.

The impact of this great trial on the hearts and minds of our children has created many different reactions. Some of our children live in fear, confusion, and anxiety. Some are in a psychological coma created by shock, wondering if this really happened. Other children, however have found a new meaning in their lives.


These children have transformed their minds. They decided that the forces of evil would not conquer them. They are born-again heroes without fear, but with faith in the goodness of humanity. They are inspired by the unified response of the love, support, encouragement, giving, and sharing of the America people and the world community. They have a vision that the dry bones in the valley will rise again. They see the World Trade Center ashes as a foundation for a new America. They recognize the men and women who died are our true martyrs: they gave their lives that we may live. Finally the children have quietly made a pact with the force of life, that they will devote their own lives one day to benefit their fellow citizens, if the trumpet of service is blown.

God bless our children."

The last paragraph stands out the most to me... are we as Americans still unified? Do will still show each other love, support, encouragement? Do will still give and share freely? Are we devoted to helping those around us?

Yes, 10 years have passed.
Yes, the war is still going on... I am well aware of that fact.
But... have we truly forgotten so quickly?

We should focus on the result of the attacks. How unified our country became... not just the devastation we suffered.

One of my favorite drawings. (Kevin Wang, 8yrs old)