Yesterday, the flag of the USA flew at half-staff in memory of the lives lost in the terrorist attacks in America on September 11, 2001. Each year, we remember, and although it has been 19 years since that awful day, it doesn't get easier. Americans old enough to think at the time can recall where they were and what they were doing when they got the news that America was under attack. Of course, none of us knew the extent of what was coming. Was this a coup? How many more hijacked planes are there? Are we safe? What should we do? Drastic historic decisions were made, and time stopped as things unfolded so fast that we could scarcely take it all in. Just when all seemed safe, America had changed.
At first, we were all about our first responders. So many police and fireman lost lives. When relief came from outside of New York, people lined the streets cheering for the buses of those who had come to help. People hugged each other tighter, realizing the true priorities in life. Parents sought ways to talk to their children about the event without unduly frightening them. American flags flew everywhere. "United We Stand" became more than just a motto. It was a charge for us to take care of each other. And we did. It was many months before even television programming could tout the absurd and profane again. As a nation, we were too injured, too raw, to even think of laughing or having a good time. We were grieving our loss of innocence.
Slowly, we emerged from our funk into a world that had changed forever. Some of those changes are good. Some, not so much.
1. Flight security tightened up severely. The TSA was invented. In order to get through security at airports, people must now submit their carry-on baggage, purses, pocket contents, and shoes to x-ray scrutiny, then walk through a metal detector/scanner in order to pass. In my travels since then, I have been selected twice for special scrutiny. It was inconvenient, for sure, but I didn't really complain because it was supposedly for our own safety.
2. Muslims were suddenly the enemy because the terrorist attackers were radicalized Muslims. Anyone who even looked the slightest bit Middle-Eastern--even those who were born and raised in the USA--were under attack. Nineteen years later, they still are. One of my colleagues was a naturalized American Hindu from India and planning to go "home" to visit his family during spring break after the disaster. I was so very afraid for him. Thank God, he made it home okay. (There are also radicalized Christians among us. This isn't lost to me.)
3. The Department of Homeland Security was developed. No one really knows what they do or are supposed to do, even to this day. But it sounds good.
4. I think this is the biggest change of all. We had been a trusting society, and then the lid blew off. Suddenly, it was "us" against "them", which became a new learning curve. Get them before they get us. One of the first flights post-9/11 came with a lecture from the pilot saying, if someone threatens our safety, fight back. Throw stuff at the attacker. Do what you have to do to save the plane. And it made sense. Changes were made on aircraft to prevent anyone from entering the cockpit, but the inevitable outcome of a hijacking rested with the passengers. No one could trust the system anymore. Our collective consciousness was raised to understand that fate is sometimes left up to us.
And therein lies the problem. Now, America is no longer united. Extremists have taken over. There are forces at work to divide us, and it gets worse every single day. We have become a nation of autonomous entities no longer concerned about us as a country. It's "every man for himself", and it never used to be like that.
I have grandchildren who didn't ask for this world. They deserve better than what we have given them, which--because of COVID and other things--they are having to deal with things they didn't create. I'm ashamed of our leadership. Donald Trump has sold us all down the river, if you can forgive that race-related comment. Or maybe I should just be ashamed that we, as a nation, were so naive before the stuff hit the fan.
Please pray for us. We sure do need Divine Intervention!
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