My 2 cents about why 9/11 matters.

[KentuckyWoman]

I was only a few months old when Pearl Harbor was attacked on 12/7/41. My entire life is defined by the aftermath of that moment. The entire world I know is a series of events stemming from the decision by FDR to enter WW2. The father that raised me saw horrendous things that changed the type of father he was. The community I live in, who lost too many young men. The economic boom that increased the demand for coal. The cold war. The creation of Israel. I could go on. There are other events in the time period that affected other places more - but Dec 7 was America's.

Sept 11, 2001 provided a similar point in history. The entire landscape of the Middle East has been altered because a series of decisions starting with George W Bush. It has altered life in America for everyone. Something as simple as moving bandwidth away from public use to first responders meant a shift of everything toward digital. Radio changed, phones changed - how we interact changed. 20 and 30 somethings came of age in a "9/12" world. The values and viewpoints are unique - and should be.

Prior to 9/11 I did not know much of anything about the Middle East, the shenanigans the west has done in the oil grab, or even Islam itself. 20 years later I can look at a map without labels and pick out most of the countries. I can tell you a little bit about their history- maybe not all of it accurate, but it is more than I knew before. Due to the US taking on refugees I now have 2 doctors and several friends who actively practice Islam. For an old lady in Ohio that is remarkable. Because of 9/11 a lady from tiny town Kentucky hob knobs on occasion with people from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya ...


The day of 9/11 maybe is not the most important to me, but I don't want us to ever forget the lessons that lead up to that moment and took place after. I don't want any more Guantanamo - or Abu Ghraib. I want us to top meddling in other countries to more easily steal their resources. I want us to stop blowing children and grandmas up in the name of Jesus. I want us to see what goes around comes around.... 9/11 is proof.

I want us to respect other cultures and other people. I want us to think long and hard before roughing people up for personal advantage - whether it is in our own back yard or on the other side of the planet.

The lessons are age old ... and still valid.

[marybourg]

1. Very nicely said.

[GemDigger]

2. If that was 2 cents worth, I can only imagine what a dime in your mind is worth.

I found myself nodding with each paragraph with similar feelings. Thank you for sharing.

[Boomerproud]

3. You're very wise. Our leaders, however , do not learn.

[abqtommy]

4. Thanks for this good op. To me 9-11 was one of those instructive events that

has been wasted (like so many others) by self-serving politicians and business
leaders. They'll always see to it that we can't have the nice things we want.

[MustLoveBeagles]

5. This Gen-Xer agrees with you

[The Magistrate]

6. An Excellent Piece, Ma'am

Thank you for sharing it. As someone above observed, worth a good deal more than two cents.

[LeftInTX]

7. Here is something ironic: I was very, super anti-Muslim prior to 9/11

My anti-Muslim attitude was through the roof right after the attack.

But then Bush said, "Islam is not the enemy"...It made think.

It's ironic how years of hate went away after a horrific terror attack, but it did. And it went away a few days later. It forced me to understand.

My family are Armenian Christians from Turkey and they killed my family. I was told, "That's what Muslims do. They're barbarians".

Years of media leading up to 9/11 reinforced this. Heck, I thought Sirhan Sirhan was a Muslim. (He's actually an Arab Christian, which Armenians share a strong kindred spirit with it...) The 60's were plane hijacking, the 70's and 80's were the Iranian Revolution, the Lebanese Civil War, the PLO etc...I certainly paid attention, although I did not understand..

I find it ironic how decades of my Islamophobia (or whatever you want to call it) went away so fast, after such as horrific attack.
It's almost bizarre.

[tecelote]

8. Your 2 cents is priceless.

"I want us to respect other cultures and other people."

Absolutely. You said it. It's our differences that make us great. Not our unobjective conformity.

[Evolve Dammit]

9. Very well stated! My parents went through Depression and WWII. I absorbed a lot of that and it made

a lasting impact. Not all good, but so be it.
My defining moments are: Love Canal, Rocky Flats, Hudson River, and all the horrific intentional events of how we have directly degraded our planet and continue to do so.
Kent State/ Jackson State. Shooting and killing students for protesting the Vietnam war.
The historic and continuing deliberate oppression of Native Americans firstly, and anyone not white after that.
Invasion of Iraq, who did not attack us on 9-11 and a total pass for the Saudi regime, to this day.
Those stand out for me. The common denominator is incredibly bad decisions and actions by those "in charge" both economically, politically, militarily and the lack of humanity and basic responsibility by same.

Thanks for the thought-provoking post.