I was on the radio in Pittsburgh when the world got the biggest wake-up call in history. It was September 11, 2001, on a quiet Tuesday morning and I was preparing for my show when all of a sudden, the newsroom chatter began to grow in volume, television sets were no longer muted and you could also hear gasps and random outbursts of “Oh My God” from both men and women reporters who looked on at what we are all remembering now as the biggest terrorist attack in the history of this country.
I don’t need to paint the picture for you because it’s been embedded in our brains and for some, those images will never go away.
As we remember 9/11, 17 years later, I ask the question, is our country safer now? Recognizing the changes that were made to make this country SAFE AGAIN, what we called conveniences are now known as frustrating processes but none the less, appreciated. Travel plans are made days and hours in advance and we can’t carry the usual items on any aircraft like bottles of lotion, water, perfume, etc. like we used to. A minor inconvenience but I get it. That’s just getting on an airplane. There’s more but you get the picture. This country has changed… a lot!
We’re still mourning, healing and enduring more alleged threats from individual to small vigilante groups who claim to be a part of the Taliban and since 9/11. What those attempts did not accomplish was the fact that they brought us closer as a nation. We’re praying together. We’re organizing more. We are marching together for peace. We still have room to grow but this country has changed. A LOT!
My son was only 3 when the towers went down and hundreds of lives were lost, but he knows the importance of safety and respects this country for all it’s endured. I have tried my best to teach him to be aware of his surroundings and if he sees something that isn’t “normal”, to say something.
Take this time to say a little prayer for those lives lost, those families who are still hurting, our military who are still fighting, and for this country who continues to band together when all efforts are still being made to tear us apart.
#WeWillNeverForget
