15 years ago today, I sat in my family room in Austin and watched 9/11 unfold. I was getting ready for classes that morning, which did not happen that day. Cheryl called me from work, shortly after the first plane hit the Towers. I saw the second one hit, then saw the video from the Pentagon, and the Pennsylvania reports.
It was a day filled with stunned silence.
I watched the towers burn, and saw people jumping to their deaths rather than burn in those buildings. Finally I watched the towers fall, both of them, and was filled with sorrow as I thought about all those innocent souls still in those buildings.
What deranged minds could even conceive of something like this.
The Pentagon crash was especially hard to bear I grew up in that building. My mother spent 31 years of her life working there. Even worse, Mom once worked in an office on the third floor right about where the plane hit. I can remember standing in the window of that office watching helicopters land and take off from the heliport RIGHT THERE. Now is was a huge mass of burning rubble.
This country had just been attacked by evil every bit as bad as the evil that launched us into World War II. I was sure the result would be the same. It was obvious to me that these idiots (for lack of a more brutal word) had not learned anything from history, and they would pay the price. Eventually.
As I sat there, I knew that our country would respond, and respond in a way that eventually would make these people regret what they had done. I had no idea this would be the start of something that never seems to end. Dealing with people who feel they have a right to control other people to the extreme level these terrorists are trying to do, just has to be a priority! To ignore all of this is grossly naive!
I knew many brave men and women would take hold of their weapons of war, and run into this battle. Just like those police, firemen, and just plain heroes were doing right then in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania.
My generation grew up in the shadow of Pearl Harbor. This generation will grow up in the shadow of 9/11.
This is what it takes to respond to such evil. Far too many would die in the coming months and yers. We are so fortunate that we have men and women who are willing to do this. If not for them, the evil would prevail!
Those who call for peace all the time, seem to ignore the fact that the world is full of extremely dangerous people, who cannot be allowed to continue their quest to dominate all of us. Did not World War II teach us anything? Did all those brave men die for nothing. God, I hope not!
For some reason, I sat there thinking about an unverified quote, the closing line in "Tora, Tora, Tora". The line is attributed to Admiral Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor:
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."
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