edensgarden's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the dust settles It's been 10 hours since the madness began. I woke up this morning to hear the terrible news that my country had been attacked. I love my country, I love my fellow Americans, I would like to think that I love all members of the human race. Today, this is hard for me. I have been glued to the radio, my coworkers have been glued to the television watching and listening to the news. I have been writing down my thoughts and the things that have impressed me as I have listened to the events of this tragedy. Today I was 12 once again, sitting in Mr. Rhodes' 7th grade geography class at Carson Junior High. We have just been told that the Space Shuttle Challenger has blown-up in mid air. We observed a moment of silence, the tears slowly fell from my face. This was my first brush with national tragedy. Today I was 17 once again, and in my early morning Economics class, the Gulf War just started. Again a moment of silence was observed, and the tears fell from my face. This time it was real, my friends could go to this war. I don't want to fight. Today, I was 21, and Oklahoma has just been bombed. Why would someone do this to our country? Today I am 28 and again I ask, why did this happen? My sister said that today is the Pearl Harbor of our generation. I wish Grandmother was still alive, I would like to ask her how she felt on that day. News pundits have said that the innocence is gone, that America has lost her virginity. I say, America has been raped and robbed of part of her goodness. But are we at war with someone? With Pearl Harbor, there was a return address. But should we strike back? Is 'an eye for an eye' the way to solve this problem? I wonder if the terrorists questioned their actions in the final moments before their deaths. I wonder if they feel that way now, as they are meeting their maker. This tragedy will have a face soon, as the personal stories pour in. One face that has already appeared is that of Joe Oganowski the pilot of American flight 11, one of the planes that crashed into the WTC. His brother, Jim, spoke in front of the press earlier today. Joe leaves behind a wife, children and parents. He was born in Longfellow MA, he loved life, he was active in his church, he loved his job. Little did he know today would be the last he would have all of this. Reports on the radio say that papers from the WTC were floating through the streets in Brooklyn. Each of those papers was the work of someone, someone's hand, someone's face, mother, father, sister, or brother. Those people that are pointing fingers, or saying that we as American mega-consumers deserved this, or should have seen it coming, anger me, and should be ashamed for such callous and insensitive remarks. I would hope that today, we could have put politics aside. This is not a day for politics, this is bigger than the DNC and the GOP. The jubilation that has occurred in the streets of Palestine is just as sickening. I don't cheer when their houses and offices are bombed. I am not happy that their rights have been taken away. My rights and freedoms have been damaged today, I am beyond anger. As I said earlier today we need to pray and pray hard, and pray for the victims and our enemies as well. I read something earlier today somewhere, and I don't know who said this but it was profound, "Terrorism is a bizarre game in which, when the bad guys score one, it looks like they're winning the game." Well I'm here to say, that tomorrow the sun will rise, the world is not going to end. The dust will settle, and we will begin picking up the pieces. We will recover and be stronger for it, and the bad guys will not win! Let me know how you feel, sign the guestbook and comment. All for today~~Eden 4:50 p.m. - September 11, 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
||||||
|
||||||