September 11, 2001, a day we will never forget. At 8:46 a.m. Eastern Time the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center creating havoc for those inside. Strangely, nine years later we still don't know why or what really went wrong. Why did those inside receive orders to wait rather than to leave? Even more importantly, why did they listen? Would there have been fewer tragedies if everyone headed out the door as soon as the first plane hit? These are questions to which we will never have the answers.
What I find troublesome is the number of people including our allies in Canada who comment that we "deserved" it! How appalling is that? No one deserves to die, especially for something that is out of their control. Those people in the World Trade Center had nothing to do with the way the Bush administration handled the government. The firefighters and police officers who died trying to save those in the World Trade Center had nothing to do with the government operation. It was not their fault that ex-President Bush had made enemies of countries who had previous been our allies--or at lest ones who had paid us little mind. President Bush took office officially in January 2001 (elected in November 2000), and the WTC incident occurred on September 11, 2001--you tell me whose problem it was? Sure, there were a couple of attacks in the garage during the Clinton administration, but nothing any where near what happened on September 11, 2001.
Many believe there was a conspiracy, and while I don't have an opinion on that, I will say this much: if you read the Executive Summary of the 911 Commission Report you will find some interesting information. According to the Executive Summary President Bush had received warnings via e-mail in August 2001 but brushed them off as being idle threats. These e-mails apparently had a warning that if the U.S. didn't pull out of the Middle East al-Quaida was going to attack a major U. S. monument. When the 911 Commission Report came out the e-mails had somehow disappeared. Strange, don't you think? A cover up? That is another question that has been asked many times. Was the government part of the conspiracy and did they cover it up to save themselves from repercussions?
How many lives could have been saved if the president had acted responsibly? This is a man that was sitting in a classroom in Florida reading to children when he got the call about the World Trade Center, yet he continued what he was doing, completely unfazed by the news. He was unable to make a decision until he spoke with his father, the first President Bush. Why was this man president when he couldn't make his own decisions? Better yet, why was he elected yet another time? Of course, we know he wasn't really elected, but that's another matter completely.
Today we pay tribute to those who lost their lives in an incident that could have been and should have been prevented. All of those who died or were maimed depended on the government to protect them, and they failed to do so. Not only did the incident change the lives of the United States, but the world. September 11, 2001 did not affect only the United States but the entire world, even those who thought it was funny and chose to dance in the streets. Are they still laughing nine years later when the world is still in a major recession that began during the aftermath of that day? Are they still laughing knowing it may be years before the economy returns to anything close to "normal?"
September 11, 2010--what is different today? We are in a new administration, and President Barack Obama wants to bring our military home from Iraq, something that should have been done long before he assumed office in January 2009 after being elected in November 2008. George Bush left him with a mess to clean up, and it is likely to take him until the next election to clean it up. We are still in a recession even though economists had originally predicted we would begin to pull out the first quarter of 2010. It is now almost the 4th quarter of 2010 and we are seeing no signs of relief.
To those who lost friends and family on September 11, 2001 my heart goes out to you. I lit a candle today in memory of your loved ones. If we learned nothing else from 911, we learned one thing: we can lose everything and everybody in a snuff. That's why today, on this day of remembrance, forget any fights you are having with those close to you: mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle. Say you're sorry today because tomorrow may be too late and you will forever live with the knowledge that you failed to mend broken bridges. Look at your family and say, "You know, I don't agree with you, but I love you and will support your decision. I understand we see things differently." Say it today while you still can!
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