On Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, the sun rose as brightly as any morning in late summer. But within a few hours the sun and the bright blue sky were polluted and darkened by flashing fires, fumes, clouds of smoke and debris.

That morning, 19 terrorists had hijacked four airplanes, crashed the towers of the World Trade Center, taken out a side of the Pentagon and maimed the Pennsylvania countryside.

Astonishingly, terrorists had killed close to 3,000 civilians who were just on the way to work to make a living to feed their children and to take care of their families.

At home and around the world, people were deeply saddened to watch on television that powerful image of a plane crashing into Tower 2 of the World Trade Center. The image played over and over again on many television channels, making it real for us, more so than thousands of words. It was sad to see the body of Father Mychal F. Judge being carried out of the rubble by a policeman and four firefighters. Father Judge’s body bag was labeled “Victim 0001,” recognized as the first official victim of the 9/11 attacks.

Hearing the news that the World Trade Center had been hit by the hijacked jetliners, Father Mychal, chaplain of the Fire Department of New York, rushed to the site. There he met Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and was asked to pray for the city and its victims. Judge rushed to those lying on the street to administer last rites. Father Mychal then entered the lobby of the WTC north tower, where an emergency service command post was organized. When the south tower collapsed, the debris filled the north tower lobby, killing many inside, including Father Mychal. It was sad to see that scared people were jumping through the windows of the top floors; on the ground, the view was filled with terrible deaths, life-threatening injuries, overflowing sorrows. Desperate people were running around trying to find their missing loved ones.

However, at the same time, it was good to see the civilians at the site, though distraught, sad, and confused, were hugging, consoling and helping each other. There were reassuring signs of hope.

The American flag, though tattered, was flying high; people at the site stood in a circle, held hands, prayed and sang “America the Beautiful,” and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The firefighters, policemen and volunteers risked their own lives, standing with a resolve of unsurpassed heroism to serve. And, as we know, many sacrificed their lives without saying goodbye to their loved ones.

As the 9/11 attacks annihilated human innocence, everyone was reminded that no one is invincible. Watching this tragic, insensitive, inhuman attack on TV, people everywhere mourned, offered help and banded together in increased harmony across the artificial boundaries of ethnicity, religion and culture.

The public opined life would never be the same after this terrorist attack. Many admit that, since these attacks, they have stopped taking life for granted; they hug and tell their loved ones more often that they are loved and cherished; they hoist the American flag and sing the national anthem with a new pride. The families that suffered loss have united to keep alive the names and qualities of individuals who, to them, were the most special people in the world. They “don’t want (Osama) bin Laden to have the last word.” They are determined to give their loved ones “the last word.” They are making all the difference.

President George W. Bush declared himself aggrieved and pledged not to rest until those responsible were brought to justice. Six days after the events of September 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden, who was understood to be in Afghanistan at the time, was identified as the “prime suspect” in the attacks. While addressing a joint session of Congress on Sept. 20, 2001, Bush issued an ultimatum demanding that the Taliban government of Afghanistan “... hand over the terrorists or they will share in their fate. ... Our war on terror begins with al al-Qaeda. ...” Receiving no positive response, the United States, along with Canada and the United Kingdom, in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, launched the war (Operation Enduring Freedom) on Oct. 7, 2001.

The stated purpose of the invasion was to capture Osama bin Laden, destroy al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban regime that provided support and safe harbor to al-Qaeda. Many Americans considered this war for a just cause. Americans loved the president’s determination in exemplifying American resolve and sending a message as to who America would react if anyone attacked us. The president enjoyed his enhanced job-approval rating.

However, while still fighting the War on Terror in Afghanistan, President Bush started the propaganda campaign to make people believe that Saddam Hussein was behind the Sept. 11 attacks and then shifted the rational to the theme that Iraq possessed “weapons of mass destruction” to use directly against the United States or to give to “terrorists” to produce more Sept. 11ths on U.S. soil. Deferring the stated purpose, leaving a “precarious and urgent” situation, which should have been the central front in our battle against terrorism, George W. Bush, the commander in chief, made a decision to invade Iraq in March 2003.

No WMDs have been found. Our nation is still at war and has been less than successful in achieving the goal of restricting al-Qaeda’s movement; Osama bin Laden is still at large; thousands of American lives have been lost, and thousands more have been physically and mentally wounded; the federal deficit has increased to $9 trillion. The American reputation is blemished, our economy is on the tipping point of disaster; whereas, billions of dollars are being spent to reconstruct Iraq, which took billions of dollars to destroy.

Our economy is in an abyss not because of 9/11 but because of the way matters were handled in the aftermath. Though Mr. Charley Reese writes, “… when the twin towers were wrecked, the presidency of Bush was wrecked along with them,” I believe things started falling apart for the Bush presidency since the day he diverted American resources from fighting al-Qaeda to invading Iraq. The twin towers, though they stood tall with pride as a symbol of our national trade, were man-made objects. Had the president handled the matter with effective diplomacy, we would have defeated al-Qaeda, captured Osama bin Laden and built superior monuments within a short time, displaying American resolve to the world.

A while ago, I read an interesting blog posted by Betsy Hall from Los Angeles. She wrote: “I feel that America was ready to make sacrifices and that important measures could have been taken. Think about what America did during the Great Depression: We built schools, dams, bridges, power plants, brought power and clean water to those without, built up the national parks, created lasting art. In World War II, the nation was united in sacrifice: serving in the military, buying War Bonds, saving scrap metal, and so on. What have we been asked to do now? Go on vacation?

Keep traveling? Keep spending? The opportunity presented of a united America ready for sacrifice has been squandered by leaders without any real vision of what we could be. Our grief and outrage could have been and should have been channeled into positive things to improve life in this country and around the world. Instead, we were told to keep spending. This shows no recognition of the fact that we needed to mourn our losses, we needed to have something positive come out of our grief.”

We must emerge from this crisis as a stronger nation. While hoping for the better and wishing for the best, we should look forward to choosing an efficient president in November. May the Lord Almighty’s grace lead the new president and his cabinet in the right direction to turn around the situation for the better.

Sept. 11, 2001, was a day of infamy in the 21st century. We cannot turn the clock back to make that day disappear. We don’t have a magic wand to make the Twin Towers stand erect, bring back the lives we lost and erase the suffering caused by this senseless inhuman act and the aftermath of it. However, we can try hard to ensure that this history is not repeated. This is the day we memorialize and honor the victories of 9/11 and the heroes who sacrificed their lives while helping others out of the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and on Flight 93, as well as those who died or have been injured while serving in our armed forces, or suffering from illness due to working at ground zero. It’s the day we honor their selfless acts and pledge to preserve the legacy of their sacrifice for future generations. It’s the day to be thankful and proud that we live in “the land of free and the home of the brave” and hoist the American flag, light a candle, and observe a moment of silence.

Mandakini Hiremath is a Claflin instructor and coordinator of the university’s writing center.

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