A Day of Remembrance

Today is the 9th anniversary of the horrible happenings of September 11, 2001. Nine years have come and gone. The memories, the heroes, and the lives lost on that fateful day are still on all of our minds.

On September 11, 2001, I was in 8th grade. I grew up on a small military/chemical base in the middle of nowhere. I got to school that morning and remember everyone crying and in a state of distress. All classes seemed to have come to a halt. The TV's in every classroom were on and all teachers and students sat around them, watching the coverage of New York City, NY, Arlington, VA, and Shanksville, PA. Our small military installation was immediately shut down. No one knew why it was happening or what more would happen. There was a lot of fear and a lot of questions. Soon after they opened our gates back up, we were moved to a Threatcon Bravo (I believe..Don't quote me on it). Security at the Main Gate became more intense. Vehicle inspections, ID's were required, military stickers on vehicles were mandatory. It was chaos all over the United States.

I thought a lot today about how far we've come and what the United States might still be lacking. I'm now with someone who is fighting for the war that began September 11, 2001. It's really hit home to think about something like that. My friends here in Hawaii are all soldiers, or spouses of soldiers. Soldiers who have been deployed and come back with PTSD. Soldiers who are over in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting as I type this blog up. Spouses who have been through deployments and seen the affects it's had on our military men and women, firsthand. I'm grateful and very proud of all of our selfless men and women who have done the things to keep us free. To right the wrongs, and to defend the United States. Now, I think things might need to change.

I was reading and viewing a few things today that really had the gears in my head moving. First and foremost, I read an article this morning. It was about a rouge troop (or members of) fighting in Afghanistan. A few of the soldiers had been arrested and are being tried for killing innocent Afghani citizens. Not only were they killing them, but they were keeping body parts as souvenirs of their kills. They were also "staging" these killings by putting illegally obtained weapons near/around/on the citizens in hopes to make it appear as if these innocent people were combatants. It's a much longer story but I've included the most important. I was stunned. I know that not all service members are "good people". Joining the Army does not make you good or bad. I do not blame the Army for this, I just wish there was a way to have stopped it before it escalated. After reading the article I thought long and hard about my feelings when it comes to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Once I got home I decided to watch C-Span and their coverage of the memorial services that happened today. President Obama was at the Pentagon, and First Lady Bush and First Lady Obama were in Pennsylvania. President Obama made a good speech about the United States joining as a whole and continuing to be united. The more touching of the two memorial services were in Pennsylvania. Former First Lady Bush spoke about the memorial site being built in Shanksville where Flight 93 crashed after the passengers of the plane engaged in a fight with the terrorists to save the airline from being flown to Washington D.C. She spoke of faith and unity. Of heroes. The phone calls made by the passengers of that flight were touching and heroic. One man called his wife and said, "I know we're all going to die, but there's three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey". Another phone call was made by a crew member, to her husband. She told him their plans to attack the hijackers. Her husband could hear other members of Flight 93 whispering the 23rd Psalm. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me". I'm not a religious (although spiritual) person, but this touched me. After First Lady Bush spoke, First Lady Obama gave her speech. Once again, it was amazing. She spoke of heroic acts of not only those who gave their lives, but those who lost loved ones, those all across the United States that grieved for our country. She spoke of one 5 year old girl who found out her father had died on Flight 93. She told her mother, "Mommy, I am very sad about Daddy, but I'm not the saddest girl in the world. Other little girls lost both their Mommy and Daddy today". What a selfless comment. Being selfless is heroic to me.

Going back to my "brain gears". After reading and watching all the things I came across today, I realized something. Us, as a country, need to be more selfless. We were and still are devastated by what has happened to our country and the war we are now taking part in. We need to be understanding of those other countries as well. Not ALL Iraqis and Afghanis are evil terrorists (hence my reason for posting about the article I read). I'm sure it saddens and humiliates those citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan that a certain group of people have destroyed their country. We Americans frown upon those radical groups in our own neighborhoods. Skinheads, KKK, etc. I'm sure they feel the same way about their radical groups.We're all humans. We all have hearts and brains. We all feel guilty at times. We all feel fear, humiliation, hunger, anger, and love. Now is not the time to discriminate. We all need to come together to better our Nation. To better the World.