Over the past few weeks the different stages of this event could be seen on every TV channel, in every magazine and newspaper, and heard on every radio station. Even though I’ve seen and heard all of the updates, I’ve been trying to put all of these images together so that they make sense in my head. No matter how hard I try, I can’t. September 11th is horrible nightmare that lingers in the back of my mind. Although my life has gone on and I’ve been trying to “get back to normal”, things aren’t the same anymore...so how can I go back to what they used to be?
I honestly feel that this event struck a note with every American. For those Americans who had family members or friends working in downtown New York, the fear of losing a loved one was never so strong. The effect of this day was different for every individual. I know that for me that day was extremely emotional. My dad worked in the World Financial Center, which was right next to the Twin Towers. On that Tuesday, the only thing that I could remember was being able to walk down a small hall from my dad’s office building to the second tower. My brother and I would walk into the basement of the towers to look at the shops when we went to the Christmas party at my dad’s office every year. His office building was too close to the WTC for comfort…I was absolutely terrified that something might possibly happen to my dad.
It was a tough day for my mom, brother and I. The scariest part was not knowing where my dad was. My brother and I left school early. We were home for a 15 minutes when the towers collapsed. I know that many people saw the replays of the footage of the first tower falling and then the second, but watching the replays was not the same as seeing it when they actually fell. I can remember the exact feeling in my stomach when they went down…at that time the severity of the situation began to settle in. It had never crossed my mind that those towers were actually capable of collapsing. It was the most horrendous site I have ever seen...the only thing I was capable of doing was sitting with my mouth wide open as tears of sorrow, confusion, fear and anguish streamed down my face. It was hard to think about anything else except my dad until he walked through the door. After he came home, I really began to think about everything that had happened.
I began thinking about all of the other people like my family who had been sitting by the phone waiting for a phone call…and all of those families who would never get that call. I was sad, angry and confused…I didn’t understand how anyone could hate another group of people and go so far as murdering that many innocent people. I was aware that terrorism existed, but I never thought that any group could despise another the way the Taliban hates Americans. I’m still confused about what they were trying to prove that day. I’ve heard people say that the Taliban hates America because of our beliefs in freedom. I’ve also heard that they have political and economic issues with the United States because we are prosperous. I don’t know if those are reasons why they attacked us but in my opinion…if they are using that to justify what they did then they have bigger issues at hand.
I understand that they live in an entirely different world and their beliefs are different; but they had no right to murder innocent people no matter what their beliefs dictate. Maybe this is too opinionated…but if their beliefs include the mass destruction of human life, then they should keep their beliefs in their own country. I have had trouble understanding why these terrorists have taken their beliefs out of their country and believe they have the right to tell Americans that our way of life is wrong. America is free; it gives people from all around the world the chance to live in a country where they are given the right to worship freely, speak freely and make their own life. Our country is comprised of many different ethnicities…we have a very diverse culture, but that’s the basis our country was built upon. We do not tell other countries that their way of living and their beliefs are wrong and then attack them for being different.
I understand that the Afghanistan culture is different…and I respect that, but I have no respect for those who believe and follow the teachings of the Taliban. The Taliban is a group comprised of ignorant and uneducated people who diverted from the peaceful teachings of Islam to form their own radical religion. This is strictly based on my opinion, but the only thing that the events of September 11th proved to Americans and the world was that the terrorists come from a sub-human culture. Their violent actions against us have shown the world that they are brutal, uncivilized and have no respect for human life. It greatly angered me to see people cheering as if flying two planes into buildings and killing many people was one of the world’s greatest accomplishments. Targeting and murdering innocent people is not a praiseworthy deed by any means. I personally feel that all of the actions against the United States have proved exactly how weak their country is, and exactly what type of people we are dealing with.
I realize that my views on this topic are extremely opinionated and I don’t expect anyone to agree with any of the things that I have said. Maybe many of the things that I have said are wrong…but this is exactly how I felt three weeks ago. This is not necessarily the way in which I feel now, because now I have learned a lot more about Afghanistan and the Taliban. The reason why I chose to write this was because there were so many different degrees of emotion stirred up that I never knew I was capable of feeling.
By KS age 17