“The Manhattan skyline will never be the same”

Tuesday, September 11, 2001, a reporter made a statement consisting of eight words that opened my eyes to the realization of the terrorist attacks on the United States of America. Those words were, “The Manhattan skyline will never be the same.”
The destruction of New York City’s skyline is devastating but not as devastating as the loss of so many people. My emotions are so out of whack at this point. I think about the innocent victims in the hijacked planes, in the World Trade Center towers, and in the Pentagon. They all knew that they were just seconds away from dying. Some were lucky enough to have access to a telephone and call loved ones to say their final good-byes. Or were they lucky? Their lives were shortchanged.
The good-byes did not end there. With the possibility of war, all military personnel are told to standby. My two brothers are affiliated with the military, one being an Army Reserve and the other enlisted in the Army as active. My brother, who is currently enlisted, called me late in the night crying. The Army advised everyone to contact his or her family and let them know that he or she is okay. My brother, scared that he will be sent to war and will be killed, called to say, “I love you” and “Goodbye.” Was he being pessimistic, or did he know the truth about what we are going up against? The truth is that these terrorists believe in dying for their God and do not care whom they hurt while serving this duty.
Who is behind all of this? Osama bin Laden is the mastermind who has taken so many lives and will keep killing our loved ones until we stop him. My anger, hurt, and depression triggered by Tuesday’s events have convinced me that we need to handle this issue. How could an individual do this to a nation and cause all this heartache? There are so many questions, which will probably never be answered.
Through all of this terror, one good thing has risen above it all, and that is our nation’s patriotism. We are helping our fellow Americans, whether it is shoe stores handing out tennis shoes to women in heels running through the New York City streets after the attack on the World Trade Center or giving blood to help survivors. We are still a nation, and together we stand tall like the Empire State Building, standing majestically in the remains of Manhattan’s skyline.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 21 2001. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry